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Taken from Map in Cari-cirs 
SistDrical CoiUectioiis of Soufli Carolina.. 



<7^M 



HISTORY 



OP 



THE OLD CHERA¥S: 

CONTAINING 

AN ACCOUNT OF THE ABOEIGINES OP THE PEDEE, 

THE FIRST WHITE SETTLEMENTS, 

THEIE SUBSEQUENT PR0GEE8S, CIVIL CHANGES, THE STRUGGLE OF THE 
REVOLUTION, AND GROWTH OP THE COUNTRY AFTERWARD ; 

EXTENDING FROM ABOUT A.D. 1730 TO 1810, 

WITH 

NOTICES OF FAMILIES AND SKETCHES OF INDIVlBtr^ 

BT THE 

Right Eev. ALEXANDER GREGG, D.D. 

BISHOP OF THE P. E. OHURCH IN TEXAS, 
FORMBBLT EBCTOE OF ST. DATID's OHUBOH, OHEBAW, BO. CA. 



NEW YORK: 
RICHARDSON AND COMPANY, 

14, BOND STREET. 
1867. 







A 






Entered, accoeding to Act op Congress, in the 
Year 1867, by 

RICHARDSON & COMPANY, 

In the Clerk's OFricE of the District Court of the Southern 
District of New York. 



37-^7^ 




TO 



THE DESCENDANTS OF THE FIRST SETTLERS ON THE UPPER PEDEE, 

OP 

THE WHIGS OF THE OLD CHERAW DISTRICT AND LIBERTY 
PRECINCT, 

WHEREVER THEY ARE TO BE FOUND: 
THIS TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF THEIR FATHERS, 



|s f csgutfnllg fjebitateb 



THE AUTHOR. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The Author was induced some years since^ at the instance of 
the " Cheraw Lyceum/' to investigate the history of the 
Indian trihes formerly inhabiting the valley of the Pedee. 

In the course of his researches, some very interesting 
documentary matter connected with the first white settlers 
of this region was unexpectedly discovered, which led to 
renewed effort in that direction, and resulted in the collec- 
tion from various sources of an amount of matter far beyond 
anything which the most sanguine hopes in the outset could 
have anticipated. This was the more gratifying, inasmuch 
as in the histories of the State and the published memoirs 
of some of the distinguished leaders of the Revolution, the 
region of the Upper Pedee, embraced within the limits of 
the Old Cheraw District, had literally found no place. It 
was far removed from Charles-town, as well as from the 
main routes of emigration, travel, and the Indian trade, all 
which tended to the west and north-westward, where the 
Cherokees held sway. None of the important battles of the 
Revolution were fought in this portion of Carolina, though 
it contributed largely to the number of those who took an 
active part in the strife. The operations of Marion were 
confined chiefly to the parts lower down on the river. Even 
Judge James, who served in early life under that dis- 
tinguished partizan leader, remarks, in his " Life of 
Marion \" — " As to the Old Cheraw District, where a 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

sanguinary warfare was waged between the Whigs and 
Tories under General Thomas, their leader, nothing is known, 
and it will, perhaps, remain ever unrecorded." 

It may, therefore, be readily imagined with what delight 
the materials of this unwritten history were recovered, how 
the desire was naturally excited to give it publicity, and the 
pride justly felt by one in the region of his nativity, to 
rescue the noble deeds of those who had long since passed 
away, from oblivion. 

After gathering the materials for his narrative from every 
accessible source^ and carefully collating them, the Author 
was called, in the providence of God, to make a permanent 
removal from the State of his birth and the scenes of his 
former labors. He has since found time to bring the work 
to completion, esteeming it a tribute of affection due to those 
ties and associations, ever so dear to man, which he has left 
behind him. 

Though in the main a local history, and for that reason 
chiefly interesting to those who by nativity or descent are 
more immediately connected with this portion of Carolina, 
there is yet of necessity a close and continuous connexion 
throughout with the history of the State at large — a history 
which, except by the aid of such detailed accounts of par- 
ticular localities, can never be fully written. Much, there- 
fore^ of general interest will be found in the following pages, 
more especially in the period which immediately preceded 
the Revolution, and during the progress of that eventful 
conflict. To the Whigs of the Old Cheraws, though with 
very few exceptions hitherto unknown to fame, must a con- 
spicuous place be assigned, for the part they took in pre- 
paring the way for that early struggle for independence, and 
in its prosecution afterwards. 

If omissions appear in the account of families which came 
at an early period to the Pedee, and are known to have taken 



INTRODUCTION. vii 

an active and influential part in its subsequent history, it 
is to be attributed to the fact, which none can regret more 
than the Author, that after diligent and unremitting effort, 
information was either not to be obtained, or failed, after 
repeated application, to be procured from their descendants. 
It is a melancholy fact, indeed, as has been painfidly experi- 
enced here in not a few instances, how little is known by 
their posterity of the third and fourth generations, of ances- 
tors who are worthy of being held in honored remembrance. 
In this connexion facts could be given which would scarcely 
be credited. Too little attention has been generally paid to 
the preservation of such ancestral accounts, and of documen- 
tary matter, invaluable in connexion with the history of 
communities and public events of importance. To a few 
such collections which happily escaped the ravages of time, 
the Author has been largely indebted in filling up some of the 
links of his narrative. He is under weighty obligations to 
those who kindly furnished information and materials within 
their reach ; also to others who gave him access to public 
libraries and the archives of the State, and desires in this 
lasting form to give expression to his acknowledgments. 

In a local history like the following, much of minute 
detail as to persons and places is to be expected, constituting, 
as it does, one of the chief attractions of such a narrative. 
Where printed or documentary matter of permanent interest 
and value could be given in full as recorded, the object has 
been to present it literally in its original form, rather than 
in the language of the Author. In this way only can the 
materials necessary for general use in the future be preserved, 
and the labor of those to come in more important paths of 
historical inquiry be lightened. The hope is therefore 
cherished that the intrinsic value of the matter collected, not 
the style of its narration, may interest the reader. And if 
a work, begun and prosecuted under the constant pressure of 



VUl INTRODUCTION. 

other pursuits and labors, shall serve to make those for whom 
he has chiefly written, better acquainted with the history of 
their fathers, and do justice, though at so late a period, to 
the memory of the noble men who have gone before, the 
Author will feel that his effort is abundantly rewarded. 



San Antonio, Texas, 
April, 1867. 



HISTORY 



THE OLD CHERAWS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Indian tribes in Carolina — Extent of their territory — Otlier tribes — Pedees — 
Kadapaws — Localities of each — Their origin — Advent of the Catavvbas — 
Their tradition — Subsequent relation to tribes on the Pedee — Lederer's 
narrative — Localities identified — Sara, where — First mention in public records 
of tribes on the Pedee — Visit of the Cheraws to Cliarlestown — Governor's 
visit to the Congerees — Interview with Pedees — Governor Glenn writes to 
Governor Clinton — Evans's Journal — Cheraws visit Charlestown — Small- 
pox prevails — Removal of Cheraws and union with Catawbas — Catawba 
History — Languages of tribes on the Pedee — Meaning of " Cheraw" — 
"Pedee" — Indian remains on the Pedee — Indian habits and customs — 
Lawson's narrative — Last of Cheraws and Catawbas. 

There is a sad chapter in the history of the New World : 
it is that relating to the Aborigines of America — a peoj^le^ 
as all accounts agree^ distinguished for many noble traits^ 
but invariably degenerating in character and habit as they 
have come in contact with the " pale-faces/^ and taken 
up their mournful line of march towards the setting sun. 

When first known to the colonists, South Carolina is said 
to have contained not less than twenty-eight tribes of 
Indians, with settlements extending from the ocean to the 
mountains. Of these tribes but a few names survive to 
mark the localities they once inhabited ; and these, with 
such scattered remains as the waste of time and the level- 
ling work of the white man have spared, are the only memo- 
rials left to tell of their early occupancy of the soil. Of the 
tribes which dwelt upon the Pedee and its tributaries, the 
Saras, or Saraws, as they were first called — afterwards 
CharrowSj Charraws, and Cheraws — occupied the region still 



2 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

identified by the name : their territory extending thence to 
the coast, and along the coast from the Cape Fear to the 
Pedee. This extensive region has been assigned to the 
Cheraws by one of the most eminent ethnologists of America, 
as among the sites of the Indian tribes when first known to 
the Europeans, about the year 1600, along the coast of 
the Atlantic."^ 

If such was the extent of their territory at that early 
period, it would indicate a population which must have 
been greatly diminished, when, upon the approach of the 
Catawbas, a half century later, the supremacy of the Che- 
raws over the smaller tribes around them, and even over 
their own distinct nationality, would seem to have been lost, 
or at least unacknowledged. Within these early territorial 
limits of the Cheraws, and along the middle and lower 
parts of the valley of the river, must be assigned the Pedees ; 
and about the mouth of the river, the Winyaws. The 
Kadapaws were found on Lynchers Creek, after the name of 
which tribe that stream was called in the Indian tongue. 
Of these, the Cheraws — however they may have been dimi- 
nished in number by disease and war, or perchance by some 
dismemberment of their nation, and the removal of many, 
of which no record or tradition remains — continued to be 
the dominant race on the Pedee ; the others having ever 
been reckoned among the smaller and inferior tribes. Of 
their origin nothing is known beyond the conjectures of 
ethnologists. They have been assigned, but upon what 
grounds does not appear, to the extensive family of Algon- 
kins. These occupied that portion of North America on 
the east extending from 35° to 60° N. latitude, and reaching 
along the northern line of extension almost to the Pacific 
on the west. Beyond this, as the track of aboriginal descent 
and migration begins to be traced back, even conjecture is 
lost in a sea of uncertainty. 

The tribes on the Pedee continued in their feeble and 
disconnected state (the Cheraws maintaining the supremacy) 
until the arrival of the Catawbas from the north, with the 



* See map annexed, by the late Albert Gallatin, vol. i. of "Transactions of 
American Ethnological Society." 




' WITH SURROUNDING TRIBES, 
TAKEN FROM ]NL\P IN VOL. I, 

Traiisaclioiis ol' American 
Elluiolt)piciLl Socielv. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 3 

history of whom their own was ever after to be inseparably- 
blended. 

According to their tradition,'^ as it has been handed 
down to very recent times, the Catawbas, at a period prior 
or not long subsequent to the discovery and settlement of 
North America by the whites, occupied a region far to the 
northward, from whence, in course of time, they removed 
to the south. Being a numerous and warlike race, they 
vanquished the tribes with whom they came successively in 
conflict on the way, until they met the Cherokees on the 
banks of the river, afterwards called by their own name, 
Catawba. 

Here, as the tradition relates, a sanguinary battle ensued 
between them, which lasted from morning until night, 
darkness alone serving to put an end to the conflict. The 
loss on both sides was heavy, though neither party gained 
the victory. They slept on the field of blood among their 
dead and wounded. With the approach of morning, pro- 
positions of peace were made by the Catawbas, and accepted 
by the Cherokees. According to the terms of the agree- 
ment, the former were to occupy the country east of the 
river, and the latter the territory on the west. Here they 
solemnly agreed to live together as brothers ; and, after 
burying their dead, and erecting piles of stones as monu- 
ments alike of their common loss, and of the peace and 
friendship established between them, returned to theu' en- 
campments, ever afterwards sacredly observing the terms of 
the compact. This tradition of the Catawbas is confirmed 
throughout by the fuller details which ethnological research 
has added to their history. They appear to have been a 
Canadian tribe, and to have left their ancient home about 
the year 1650, pursued by the Connewangas, a superior and 
more warlike tribe, with whom they had come in conflict. 
Forced thus to remove, they turned their faces to the south- 
ward, and fought their way, when necessary to do so, until 
they approached the head waters of the Kentucky River. 



* For this interesting traditional account, as given by the Catawbas, the 
author is indebted to W. H. Thomas, Esq., of QuuUa Town, No. Ca., who has 
been intimately connected with them, as their head man, or chief, since their 
removal to the western part of that State. 

B 2 



4 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Here a separation took place^ tlie larger number becoming 
absorbed in the great families of the Chickasaws and Choc- 
taws. 

The remainder of the tribe stopped in what was after- 
wards known as Bottetourt County, Virginia, but without 
making any permanent settlement. 

They removed thence in the year 1660, continuing their 
journey to the south, and, as Adair wrote, " settled on the 
east side of a broad, purling river, that heads in the great 
blue ridge of mountains, and empties itself into Santee 
River, in Amelia township, then running eastward of Charles- 
town, disgorges itself into the Atlantic.^^ 

On the banks of this river, the Eswa Tavora (as it was 
called in the Indian tongue), they met the Cherokees, 
whose extensive territory ran thence to the westward, and 
there followed the sanguinary conflict, of which some ac- 
count has been given. 

In this battle 1000 of the bravest warriors were lost 
on each side, greatly reducing the force of the Catawbas, 
and doubtless making a permanent impression on their spirit 
as a warlike race, for which they had been so celebrated in 
the earlier periods of their history. 

How the approach of the Catawbas was regarded by the 
Cheraws, and whether any conflict ensued between them, 
tradition does not inform us. The approach of a strong 
and formidable tribe was generally regarded by the Indians 
as a hostile demonstration and claim to dominion. Already, 
doubtless, the decline of the Cheraws had commenced and 
made such progress as to unfit them for contesting the 
claim to supremacy. It was to be the story of a continuous 
decline, and of a race scattered or absorbed into another 
superior to themselves, the beginning of the last and most 
mom-nful chapter in their history. A portion of the 
Cheraws, however, must have remained distinct and inde- 
pendent for more than a century later, as will be found in 
tracing their subsequent course. They were henceforth to 
• be wanderer?, the remains of their once extensive dominion, 
with those of the smaller tribes around them, having passed 
away to the Catawbas. The territory of the latter was 
placed in 34:° north latitude, being bounded on the north 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 5 

and north-east by North Carolina ; on the east and south 
by South Carolina; and about west and south-west by the 
Cherokee nation."^ 

The smaller tribes on the waters of the Pedee^ appear 
after this period to have had but a nominal existence. 
They had doubtless degenerated through the operation of 
those wasting and destructive agencies at work in the his- 
tory of the aboriginal races ; and, in addition, had under- 
gone the process, common among the Indians, of becoming 
absorbed in their conquerors or in the larger tribes around 
them. 

In this instance they were merged chiefly in the Cataw- 
bas. About the year 1743, the language of the Catawbas 
is said to have consisted of twenty different dialects, of 
which the " Katahba^^ was the standard, or court dialect, 
the "" Cherah" being another. Scarcely anything beyond a 
bare allusion to them by name is found relating to the 
tribes on the Pedee in the earliest accounts of the Indians 
of Carolina. With the exception of the Cheraws, they were 
reckoned among the smaller and inferior tribes, most of 
whom had then greatly degenerated and were rapidly ap- 
proaching extinction. Brief allusions are found at an early 
period to the several tribes in the Acts of the Assembly, 
passed for the regulation and support of the Indian trade. 
The larger tribes on the northern and western boundaries 
of the Province engaged the attention of the Government 
almost exclusively. The Catawbas formed a sort of barrier 
against their incursions, and of them there is frequent 
mention. 

Of the Cheraws the first distinct relation in any contem- 
poraneous record, is found in the explorations of John 
Lederer, " in three several marches from Virginia to the 
west of Carolina and other parts of the Continent ; begun 
in March, 1669, and ended in September, 1670.^'t 

Such at least is the case, if we are to understand by 
" Sara,''' as he writes it, the locality of the " Saraws,'' as 
they were sometimes called, or Cheraw Indians. Thus, in 



* Adair, p. 224. 
t For a full account of this early American traveller, the reader is referred 
to Dr. Hawks' " History of No. Ca.," vol, ii. pp. 43—63, with maps annexed. 



6 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

one of his journeys^ Lederer says, " I departed from Watery 
the one-and-twentieth of June, and keeping a west course 
for near thirty miles, I came to Sara. Here I found the 
ways more level and easy. I did likewise, to my no small 
admiration, find hard cakes of white salt among them ; but 
whether they were made of sea-water or taken out of salt- 
pits T know not, but am apt to believe the latter, because 
the sea is so remote from them. From Sara I kept a south- 
west course until the five-and-twentieth of June, and then I 
reached Wisacky. This three days' march was more trouble- 
some to me than all my travels besides, for the direct way 
which I took from Sara to Wisacky is over a continued 
marsh overgrown with weeds, from whose roots spring 
knotty stumps, as hard and sharp as flint. 

" I was forced to lead my horse most part of the way, and 
wonder that he was not either plunged in the bogs or lamed 
by those rugged knots. This nation is subject to a neighbor 
king residing upon the bank of a great lake called Ushery, 
environed of all sides with mountains and Wisacky marsh. '^^ 
There is great difficulty throughout Lederer's narrative, 
as Dr. Hawks more than once remarks, in determining the 
routes by which he passed and the localities described. If 
by " Watery,^' the Wateree of the present day is to be un- 
derstood, he could not by going west thirty miles to 
" Wisacky,'^ and thence three days' march by a south-west 
course to " Ushery," have reached the Santee j for by 
" Ushery'^ the Santee was meant, if the authority quoted by 
Dr. Hawks is correct : Col. Byrd, he adds, says that the 
Indians living on the Santee River were called " Usheries." 
If, on the other hand, amid the confusion of names which 
could not have been very well defined at that early period, 
we may understand by " Watery" the Pedee of the present 
day, a journey of thirty miles to the west would have 
brought Lederer to Lynchers Creek, the " Wisacky," and 
three days' march from thence south-westwardly along the 
swamp of Wateree, would have enabled him to reach the 
Santee, environed by the " High Hills" which have since 
become so famous, called by this early explorer, " Moun- 



* Hawks' " History of N. C," vol. ii. p. 49. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 7 

tains/' and witli an almost impenetrable swamp of vast ex- 
tent^ to which his description of a '' marsh overgrown with 
reeds/' would very well answer. 

In support of this view, we find in Oldmixon's " History 
of Carolina/' published in 1708, reason for supposing that 
the Pedee was then called by that name (Watery). De- 
scribing the six counties into which Carolina, North and 
South, was then divided, he begins with Albemarle, on the 
borders of Virginia. Then follows an account of Clarendon 
County, in which, he says, '^ is the famous promontory, called 
also Cape Fear, at the mouth of Clarendon River, called 
also Cape Fear River. The next river is named Waterey 
River, or Wiuyan, about twenty-five leagues distant from 
Ashley River : it is capable of receiving large ships, but in- 
ferior to Port Royal, nor is yet inhabited. There is another 
small river called Wingon River, and a little settlement 
honoured with the name of Charles-town, but so thinly 
inhabited that 'tis not worth taking notice of. We come now 
to South Carolina, which is parted from North by Zantee 
River. The adjacent county is called Craven County."* 

It is evident that the '' Waterey" here spoken of, was 
the Waccamaw, or the lower Pedee, and not the Wateree 
of the present day. 

The Pedee being a much longer stream than the Wacca- 
maw, it is not impossible that though the latter was known 
by the name of Waterey, or Winyan near its mouth, the 
former being supposed to form its extension higher up, was 
also in like manner designated. Dr. Hawks remarks, 
" Watery, Sara, Wisacky, and Ushery, would all appear to 
have been in South Carolina, the last directly west of 
Charles-town. If he made his journey then, entering the 
State somewhere in Robeson County, he must have crossed 
in a south-western line, and passing through Robesou 
County into South Carolina, must have traversed that State 
also in its entire width. The time occupied would not have 
been sufficient for it. Ledcrer's Itinerary presents difficul- 
ties which we confess we cannot satisfactorily solve."t 



* Oldmixon's " History," in Carroll's Collections, vol. ii. p. 446. 
f Hawks' " History of N. C," vul. ii. p. 52. 



8 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

If, as is here conjectured_, Lederer passed through Robeson 
County into South Carolina, the supposition we have made 
will appear the more probable. And it brings to light the 
fact never before suggested or imagined, perhaps, that the 
Pedee, in the earlier days of aboriginal history, was known 
as " Sara/^ If it was so, the time and reason of the change 
to Pedee can be left to conjecture only. 

It might have taken place after the advent of the 
Catawbas, and been brought about by them in order that 
such a standing memorial of the " Sara" dominion might 
be for ever obliterated ; or, what is yet more probable, the 
" Sara'' territory, once embracing the region higher up, but 
afterwards confined to the coast, the Pedees, if succeeding 
to it, would naturally have called the river after their own 
name. 

The earliest mention in the provincial records of any of 
the tribes inhabiting the Valley of the Pedee, is found in 
the proceedings of the Council or Upper House of Assembly, 
December 15th, 1732.* It is in these words : — " Mr. 
Sanders and Mr. Waties came from the Lower House with 
the following message. We herewith send your Excellency 
a letter of great moment to this Government, relating to 
the murder of a Pedee Indian, by one Kemp. We desire 
your Excellency to take the proper measures to prevent the 
ill consequences of it, by causing the offender to be appre- 
hended and brought to justice, or otherwise as your 
Excellency shall see fit." 

Upon I'eading the message from the Lower House of 
Assembly, and likewise the letter therein mentioned, com- 
plaining that one Kemp, or Camp, an overseer at Black 
River, or Georgetown, has barbarously murdered one of 
the Peedee Indians, 

" Ordered, — That James Neale, Esq., Provost Marshal, 
do immediately attach the said Kemp, or Camp, and bring 
him before his Excellency, the Governor, in Charlestown, 
to be dealt with according to law, and that all Constables 
and other officers and subjects of his Majesty be aiding and 



* "Council Journal," No. 5, p. 258, Secretary States Office, Columbia. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 9 

assisting to tlie said Provost Marshal in tlie execution of 
tliis order /^ 

This proceeding of the House was based upon the 
following facts : — " Appeared before this Board, Thomas 
Burton and Wm. Kemp, and upon the affidavit of Thomas 
Burton, and the information of Wm. Kemp concerning the 
fact of an Indian fellow being killed, name Corn-White 
Johnny, his Excellency issued the following order. On 
the 17th January, 1733, in Council, upon hearing this day 
the information of William Kemp, relating to the death of 
Corn- White Johnny, and the aflSdavit of Thomas Burton, 
it is ordered that King Harry, Captain Billy, George and 
Dancing Johnny, and some of the relations of the deceased, 
be and appear before me, the second Wednesday in February 
next ensuing, to give an account of what they know of the 
death of the said Indian, and that Wm. Kemp do attend 
at the same time ; likewise that Mr. John Thompson, jun., 
is desired to acquaint the said Indians of this order." 
This record is of interest now as evincing the jealous care 
exercised by the Provincial Government for the protection 
of those scattered and defenceless remnants of the Indian 
tribes whose domain was fast passing away from them, and 
who continued faithful to the whites to the close of their 
history. 

Of the result of the proceedings referred to no further 
account appears. 

We have next a brief, but interesting notice* of a visit 
made to Charles-town by a few of the leading men of the 
Cheraw and Catawbas in July 1739 : — " On Saturday 
last," said the Gazette of that day, " arrived in this town 
eleven of the chief men among the Catawbas and Cheraw 
Indians, who came to pay a visit to his Honour, the Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, and inform him that some time since a 
party of their people went out to war, and not meeting 
with their enemies, had cut off a white family on the 



* South Carolina Gazette, June 30— July Vtli, 1739. For access to this 
invaluable historical collection — a complete file of the old Gazettes, commencing 
about 1730— the author is indebted to the courtesy of A. H. Mazyck, Esq., of 
the Charleston Library. Only a few of the earlier numbers of the Gazette are 
missing. At a later period a small portion was burned. 



10 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

borders of Virginia ; that upon complaint made to them of 
the said barbarous murder^ they examined into the facts, 
and had put five of the ringleaders to death ; and that they 
were determined to prosecute in the same rigorous manner 
any of their people who for the future should be found 
guilty of the like cruel practices. They met with a kind 
reception from his Honour the Lieutenant-Governor; and 
ha^^ng received the usual presents from the country, they 
set out this day on their return home, well pleased and 
content/^ 

The signal punishment visited by these tribes upon the 
murderers of the whites, indicated their fidelity to the 
Provincial Government, which continued to be as true as it 
was lasting. 

Of the Pedees mention is made a few years later. " In 
Council, March 2nd, 1743, his Excellency, the Governor, 
signed the following order to Mr. Commissary Dart, viz., 
to provide for the Pedee Indians now in town, the follow- 
ing particulars, viz. : — 

" Presents. — To the three head men, each of them, a gun 
and knife ; to the others, each of them, a knife. For the 
three women, each of them, a looking-glass, twenty bullets, 
half a pound vermillion to be divided among them. 

" Also, an order on Col. Brewton, for ten pounds of gun- 
powder for use of said Indians."^ The Pedees are men- 
tioned again, with the Catawbas, in the following year. " In 
Council, 25 th July, 1744, the Governor admitted four 
Pedee Indians to an interview in the Council Chamber, 
who infoi'med his Excellency that seven Catawbas had been 
barbarously murdered by the Notchee Indians, who live 
among them, which horrible deed having been confirmed by 
Mr. Matthew Beard, who lives at Goose Creek, who had 
certain intelligence of the same, saying, that the said Ca- 
tawbas being drunk near Fuller Cowpen, near the four holes, 
seven of them, while asleep, were murdered by the Notchees ; 
which affair being taken into consideration, his Excellency, 
by the advice of his Majesty^s Council, ordered the follow- 
ing letter to be despatched away, relating to that subject : — 



* " Council Jounml," No. 11, p. 133. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 11 

" So, Ca., July 28, 1744. 
" Sir^ — I have received information of an unlucky accident 
which happened about a week ago^ at or near the store be- 
longing to the late Major Fuller, somewhere about the Four 
Holes, where some Notchee Indians have fallen upon and 
killed five or six of the Catawbas, being instigated thereto 
by a person who keeps that store. The Catawbas, as I 
understand, have already set out to take their revenge, 
which has obliged the Notchees and Pedees to come further 
down among the settlements for shelter. I must therefore 
desire the favor of you to interpose in this matter, and to 
prevent, as far as you are able, any bloodshed, till this 
matter is fully enquired into. Then the guilty may be 
punished, and if you find it necessary, to interpose with the 
Militia in your parts to keep the peace. This I write at 
the desire of his Majesty^s Council. I hear they are at 
IMr. Beard's Plantation, in the neighbourhood. 

I am, with truth, yours, 
"To Hon. Wm. Middleton, Esq." " JaMES GleN."^ 

About two years after this, the Governor, as was usTial 
when any difficulty occurred with the Indians, or to pre- 
serve their friendship and maintain a due influence over 
them, made a visit into the interior, at a certain place on 
the Congarees, appointed by him for an interview with the 
Catawbas, of which the following account was preserved. f 
" The Governor arrived at Congarees 27 April, 140 miles 
distance hence, where, on the bank of the Santee, the king 
and a few of the head men met him. Yenabe Yalangway, 
the King — the old leader. Captain Taylor, Naf kebee, and some 
others awaited on his Excellency. The next day the Go- 
vernor addressed them. A place being erected for the 
Governor to sit under, and the Union Flag hoisted, our 
men were drawn out in two lines, through which the Indians 
marched, when they were received with drums beating and 
colours flying, and saluted with some small pieces of cannon : 
after they had all taken the Governor by the hand, and the 
King with some of his head-men, had placed himself near 

* " Council Journal," No. 11, pp. 413, 414. 
f Gazette, June 2, 1746. 



12 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

his Excellency^ a person was sworn truly to interpret all 
that should pass betwixt the Governor and the Indians ; 
and then his Excellency addressed them in words^ the pur- 
port of which was to dissuade them from agreeing to a 
proposition which had been made to them by some of the 
other Indian Nations to join in a French war against 
the people of Carolina. After which, presents were dis- 
tributedj consisting chiefly of powder, g^ns, pistols, paint, 
&c. The Governor had that morning received an express 
from Mr. Brown (who trades amongst the Catawbas) acquaint- 
ing him that some of the Pedees and Cheraws (two small 
tribes who have long been incorporated with the Catawbas), 
intended to leave them, which might prove of dangerous 
consequence at a time when they were so closely attacked 
by their enemies, the Northern Indians. Mr. Brown there- 
fore entreated that, if possible, such a separation might be 
prevented. 

The Governor ordered the rammers of all the pistols 
which he had delivered to the Indians to be laid uj)on the 
table, desiring that such as were Pedees and Charraws might 
advance, and they, being in a body near him, he spoke to 
them in these words : — " It gives me great concern, my 
friends, to hear that you entertain the least thought of 
leaving the Catawbas, with whom you have been so long 
and so closely united. This union makes you strong, and 
enables you to defend yourselves and annoy your enemies ; 
but should you ever separate, you would thereby weaken 
yourselves, and be exposed to every danger. Consider that 
if you were single and divided, you may be broke as easily 
as I break this stick" (at the same time breaking one of 
the rammers) ; " but if you continue united together, and 
stand by one another, it will be as impossible to hurt or break 
you, as it is impossible for me to break these,'^ (his Excel- 
lency then taking up a handful of rammers). 

After this, they all promised to continue together in their 
camp. The Governor then directed himself to the King of 
the Catawbas, telling him that he would expect his answer. 
To which the King replied at some length, assuring the 
Governor of their continued friendship and fidelity. 

The pledge of fidelity renewed on this occasion was 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 13 

faithfully observed by these Indians throughout all their 
subsequent history. Though often tempted by artful repre- 
sentations and large promises to take up arms against the 
people of Carolina^ they could never be persuaded to do so. 
Throughout the Indian wars^ and the contest M-ith the 
mother country, they continued steadfast in their devotion 
to their early friends and allies, well meriting the aid and 
protection extended to them by the State in the latter stages 
of their decline and weakness. 

That the Pedees owned slaves, will appear from the follow- 
ing notice, published in the Gazette of the day, August 30 — 
September 6, 1748 :— 

" Taken up by Michael Welch, overseer to the Subscriber, 
on an Island called Uchee Island, a Negro Fellow, who 
gives the following account of himself, viz., that he belonged 
formerly to JNIr. Fuller, and was by him sold to Billy, King 
of the Pedee Indians ; that the Catawba Indians took him 
from King Billy, and carried him to their nation ; and that 
in endeavouring to make his escape from the Catawbas, he 
was lost in the woods, and had been so a considerable time 
before he was taken. He is a middle-sized Fellow, and a 
little pot-bellied ; says his name is Fortune, but is suspected 
to have another name which he does not care to own. Any 
j)erson having any right or property in the said Fellow, may 
apply to the Subscriber, now in Charlestown. 

" Isaac Mauksdale." 

The Pedees and other smaller tribes, who now led a 
wandering life, were in constant danger of being enticed off 
by the more powerful and hostile nations of Indians, to join 
them in their predatory excursions. 

The following letters indicate the anxiety felt on the 
subject by the Catawbas, as well as by the Provincial Govern- 
ment at this period. The first^was addressed by the King 
of the Catawbas to his Excellency, James Glen, Esq. : — 

" There arc a great many Pedee Indians living in the 
settlements that we want to come and settle amongst us. 
We desire for you to send for them, and advise them to 



* " Indian Book," vol. iii. pp. 163, 164, in Secretary of State's Office, 
Columbia, S. C. 



14 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

this, and give them this string of wampum in token that 
we want them to settle here, and will always live like 
brothers with them. The Northern Indians want them all 
to settle with us ; for, as they are now at peace, they may 
be hunting in the woods or straggling about, killed by some 
of them, except they join us, and make but one nation, 
which will be a great addition of strength to us. 

his 
The X King." 
Catawbfts, 21st November, 1752." mark. 

During the previous year — viz.. May 2i, 1751 — Governor 
Glen had written to Governor Clinton, of New York, re- 
specting the Congress of Indians to be holden at Albany, 
for the purpose of uniting the different friendly tribes, and 
preserving their friendship as a bulwark against the more 
hostile. Of that letter, the following extract will suffice : — 

'' Our first care," said Governor Glen, " ought to be to 
make all Indians that are friends with the English friends 
also among themselves ; and for that reason I hope you 
and the other Governors and Commissioners will heartily 
join your interest in removing all the obstacles to a peace, 
in reconciling all the differences, and cementing together in 
a closer union the northern and southern Indians, under 
the name of Norw^' Indians. I include not only the six 
nations, the .Delewares, and Susquehanna Indians, but all 
the different tribes who may be in friendship with them, 
particularly those on the Ohio River; as under the name of 
Southward Indians, I comprehend the Cherokee s, the Ca- 
tawbas, the Creeks (called sometimes Muscogee), the 
Chickesaws, and such part of the Chactaws as are in our 
interest, and all the tribes in friendship with these nations, 
or that live amongst our settlements, such as Charraws, 
Uchees, Pedees, Notches, Cape Fears, or other Indians ; 
and I hope that all prisoners on each side will be mutually 
delivered back."* 

On the 14th of October, 1755, John Evans made a visit 
to the Catawbas, by order of his Excellency, Governor 
Glen. From his journal the folloAving extracts are taken. 



* " Indian Book," vol. ii. p. 96. 



HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 15 

and will be found chiefly interesting here^ as containing 
some information respecting the Pedees : — 

"October 17th. — Met a Catawba man and woman, and 
informed by them, that in the summer, the Chcrrackees 
and Notchees had killed some Pedees and Waccamaws in 
the white people^s settlements. 

"18th. — I got into the Catawbas. King Hazier was gone 
a hunting the day before ; the next morning they sent for 
him, and he came in that night. 

" Before he got into the nation, I made it my care to 
inquire of the Pedees if they could not tell what people 
killed the Pedees at Goose Creek, where the boys were 
that was taken prisoners : answered, ' They could not tell 
who they were, but understood it was the Notchees and 
Cherokees that did the mischief.^ 

" 21st. — The king and head men met, and desired to 
know what I was come for. I told them that there was 
two Pedee women killed and scalped, and two boys carried 
away from out of the settlements, and that it was done -by 
some of their nation ; and one Notchee, which was called 
the Notchee Doctor, and his Excellency, the Governor, had 
sent me to demand the boys ; and I then and there de- 
manded these boys. I further acquainted them that his 
Excellency, the Governor, desired that they would not come 
into the settlements without they were sent for. The white 
people might mistake them, and do them a mischief, be- 
lieving them to be enemy Indians. I further said, that it 
was his Excellency, the Governor's pleasure, that the Catawba 
people should not attempt to carry away any of the Indians 
that are now living in the settlements up to their nation on 
any pretence whatever without his permission first. Their an- 
swer was, that old men should always speak truth ; and the 
most of them were grey-headed ; and they, for their parts, did 
not hurt the Pedees, and did not know or believe the mis- 
chief was done by any belonging to that nation ; and 
further said, that when the Northward Indians were in 
their nation, they bound the same three women and two 
men ; and the Catawbas released the three women, but the 
Northern Indians carried the men away. 

" 22nd. — I set out from the Catawba nation homeward, 



16 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

and at night came to a camp of Pedees. I acquainted 
them with my errand to the Nation^ and desired them to 
let me know, if they could, who it was that killed and 
scalped the Pedee women, and carried the boys away. 
Lewis Jones, their chief, answered, that soon after the 
Pedees were killed, he went down from the nation to the 
settlements to inquire what harm was done by Goose 
Creek. He met a Pedee Indian, named Prince, who lived 
in the settlements ; and Prince told him, that a day or two 
before the mischief was done, there was five Cherokees and 
one Notchee seen to go by Monck^s Corner, and Lewis 
John said, he did believe they scalped the women, and car- 
ried the boys away.^^^ 

The Cheraws, following the example of the Catawbas, 
were true to the English, as they continued to be to the 
colonists throughout the Revolution and afterwards. 

They cheerfully endured the hardships of distant jour- 
neys when called upon for aid. In the South Carolina 
Gazette of June 2, 1759, this account was given: — ^^ On 
Tuesday last, 45 Charraws, part of a Nation of Indians in- 
corporated with the Catawbas, arrived in Town, headed by 
King Johnny, who brought to the Governor the scalp of a 
French Indian, which he had taken near Loyal-Henning. 
He and several others that are with him here, were with 
Gen. Forbes during the whole expedition against Fort Du 
Quesne. Their chief business seems to be, to see his 
Excellency and receive presents." 

In the latter part of this year the great scourge of the 
red man appeared amongst them, and carried off many 
Indians in this part of the Province. In the Gazette of 
December 8th-15th, 1759, was this sad account of its 
ravages : — " It is pretty certain that the small-pox has lately 
raged with great violence among the Catawba Indians, and that 
it has carried off near one half of that Nation, by throwing 
themselves into the river as soon as they found themselves ill. 
This distemper has since appeared among the inhabitants at 
the Charraws and Waterees, where many families are down, 
so that unless especial care is taken, it must soon spread 



* " Indian Book," vol. v. pp. 94, 95. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 17 

through the whole eountry, the consequences of which arc 
much to be dreaded. The smallpox went almost through 
the Province in the year 1738, when it made prodigious 
havoc, and has ever since been kept out of it by the salu- 
tary laws enacted for that purpose." So destructive and 
rapidly exterminative had been this disease among the 
Indians from its first introduction, that its appearance 
brought on a spirit of phrenzy and desperation. Ignorant 
and grossly superstitious, they regarded it as a visible em- 
bodiment of the Spirit of Evil — the sentence of wrath from 
heaven let loose upon them, from which there was no 
escape. In this state of mind the disease found abundant 
food for keejjing itself alive and completing the work of 
destruction. The white families at the " Charraws " and 
" Waterees," who appear to have suffered severely at this 
period, were doubtless unprepared for such a visitant, and 
having not the means of prevention or cure at command, 
yielded for a time, like their savage neighbours, to the fell 
destroyer. At a later period, about the time of the Revo- 
lution, some of the Catawba warriors having visited Charles- 
town, there contracted the disease again, and returning, 
communicated it to their Nation, which, according to con- 
temporaneous accounts, came well nigh being exterminated. 
It was after this, having been sorely thinned by disease, 
that they were advised by their friends to invite the Che- 
raws to move up and unite with them as one tribe. The 
Cheraws here spoken of by the writers of the day, must 
have been a part of the tribe which had maintained its inde- 
pendence probably in the region lower down the Pedee or 
on the coast, where they led a proud but feeble existence. 
That some of them should have refused to submit to what 
must have seemed to be the yoke of a foreign invader, is 
not surprising. But their doom was scaled. No longer 
able to maintain their isolated sway, or to resist the destruc- 
tive agencies at work among them, a weak and declining 
remnant, like the Catawbas themselves, they gladly ac- 
cepted the invitation to unite their future with that of their 
brethren who had gone before them. 

And now was seen their last journey as the representa- 
tives of a nation of ancient renown. 



18 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Mournful as it was shorty the marcli was soon ended ; 
and henceforth these broken fragments were to constitute 
but one nation, under the name of Catawbas. For a while, 
as at the first, the Cheraws retained their own language, 
though ordinarily using the Catawba. 

They lived in harmony together, their early feuds for- 
gotten, and the jealousies of other days obliterated by those 
common wants and saddened recollections which were 
henceforth to mark their declining history. "Within the 
memory of persons now liAdng, a few of the Cheraws have 
visited the upper Pedee, to take a last look at the localities 
which their own traditions had identified as the homes of 
their fathers. About the year 1700, the Catawbas num- 
bered 1500 warriors. Only a half century later this proud 
band had dwindled away to 400. Their principal settlement 
about this latter period was on the Wateree, where their 
country was described as being '' an old waste field, seven 
miles in extent, with several others of smaller dimensions ; 
which shows,'' it was added, " that they were formerly a 
numerous people, to cultivate so much land, with their dull 
stone axes, before they had an opportunity of trading with 
the English, or allowed others to incorporate with them.''* 
In 1787 they were the only organized tribe, under a 
distinct name of its own, in South Carolina. 

Their town, *' Catawba," contained then about 450 in- 
habitants, of which not more than 150 were fighting men. 
In 1798 they are said to have been in the habit of holding 
an anniversary meeting of a sadly interesting character. It 
was intended to commemorate their former greatness, by 
recounting the numbers and deeds of their ancestors, of 
which tradition had kept them informed. f Well might the 
Catawbas have been proud of that history. And well may 
South Carolina cherish the memory of a people who main- 
tained their friendship and their active devotion inviolate 
throughout the long and trying period of conflicts waged 
successively with savage foes, and those of the same language 
and blood who came to reduce their American brethren to a 
state of worse than colonial vassalage ! 



* "Adair." + "Barton's New View," p. 51. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 19 

Of the liberal provision made for the Catawhas in later 
times by the Legislature of South Carolina, it is unnecessary 
to speak. 

A portion of them had removed at an earlier period to 
Buncome county. North Carolina, west of the Blue Ridge, 
and thither the miserable remnant, with few excejitions, 
followed a few years since. Reduced in numbers by disease 
and intermarriage, by the contracted territory to which they 
had been confined while yet unfitted by the slow process, 
through which the Indian must always pass, for agricultural 
pursuits ; and withal, by those habits of idleness and dissi- 
pation which the custom of leasing their lands to the whites, 
and the consequent want of employment had subjected them ; 
drunken and wandering from place to place, their condi- 
tion became as abject as it had once been elevated among 
the red men of Carolina ! " In this rapidly declining tribe,^^ 
says an eminent authority of recent times, " we behold the 
remnant of the defeated, long-lost, and celebrated tribe of 
the Eries.^' It is hoped that their history, in the materials 
of which the public records of the State abound, will one 
day, as it deserves, be fully written. 

Of the languages of the Indian tribes once inhabiting the 
valley of the Ped«e, scarce a vestige is left, except the 
names of the rivers and a few localities. The same remark 
may be made of all the tribes which were found at the first 
approaches of the white man on the coast of Carolina, from 
Cape Hatteras to the Savannah.^ 

Of the meaning of " Cheraw,^^ reasoning from the affi- 
nities of the Indian tongues, a probable conjecture may be 
hazarded. In Cherah, or Chera, as it seems at certain 
periods of Indian history to have been called, is found a 
close affinity with Chera-kee. In the language of the 
Chera-kees, Cherah, or Chera, means fire. If, then, as seems 
highly probable, Cherah is identical with Serah, or Saraw, 
or Sara — as Lederer called it — now Cheraw, it may be con- 
jectured to have meant the fire town. The site of the 
present town of Cheraw, which has retained the name, with 
slight changes, from an early period, may have been the 



* " Transactions of American Ethnological Society," vol. ii. p. 115. 

c 2 



20 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

scene of an extensive conflagration when occupied by the 
Indians ; or, being situated on a high blufl'^ and visible as a 
point of observation and alarm for miles across, it may have 
been a signal station, as such prominent localities often 
were, to gain the knowledge of an enemy's approach, or 
other danger, and hence may have been called Cherah ; in 
Cherokee, the fire-town : or, as may seem yet more probable, 
in another view ; if, about the period of their first distinct 
existence as a tribe, being possibly an off'shoot from theChera- 
kees, at the era of some internal struggle and partial dismem- 
berment of that once powerful and widely extended nation, 
the Cherahs, or Cheraws, were noted as fire-eaters, as some 
of the Indian tribes have been, the original of the name may 
be found in this circumstance — Cheraw meaning fire-eaters. 
After all, however, it is one of those points, the original 
of language in the aboriginal races, which, without the light 
of contemporaneous history, must ever remain involved in 
more or less of darkness and uncertainty. 

Of the meaning of " Pedee," nothing is known. It has 
even been made a question whether the name is of Indian 
origin ; aild the opinion has been advanced that it is not, on 
the ground that it appears to have been unknown prior to 
the English colonial settlements. Hence it is conjectured 
that it was of subsequent origin, having had its beginning, 
perhaps, in the initials of a white man's name, as of Patrick 
Daly, for example — P. D. — first carved upon a tree, then 
Indianized, and so changed into Pedee, as we now have it. 
This theory, however, is wholly untenable. 

That the name is not mentioned by the earliest writers, is 
readily accounted for by the fact that the Pedees, if ever a 
people of any note, had then become an insignificant tribe ; 
whereas only the more powerful nations of Indians engaged 
attention at first, or were so much as known by name. The 
earliest mention of Pedee is found in the account of the 
Eleven Townships, one of which was to be laid out on that 
river. This was about the year 1731-32.^ But then it was 
spoken of as having already been in familiar use. It was 
spelt, too, not as if it had come from two capital letters, the 
initials of a proper name. 

* Carroll's " Historical Collections," vol. ii. p. 124. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 21 

Both the analogy aud euphony of the Indian tongue in- 
dicate, beyond all doubt, that Pedee had the same original 
as Santee, Congaree, Wateree, Uchee, and Sewee, all of 
unquestionable Indian birth, and the names of neigh- 
bouring aud cognate tribes. That the name Pedce does 
not appear in the earliest published accounts of Carolina 
may be attributed to the fact that for a considerable time 
after the first settlement of the Province, scarcely anything 
Avas known of that part of the State, because out of the 
line of the main route of travel, far in the interior, and at a 
later period only coming into notice. 

Of the Indian remains on the Pedee which are still to be 
seen, though but little trace is left, there is nothing dis- 
tinguishable from those in other parts of the State, of 
which full accounts have been given. In some instances 
these remains are so numerous as to indicate the existence 
of once populous settlements. These settlements, as 
usually the case with the aborigines, were made upon the 
banks of rivers and other large streams, on account of the 
fertility of the soil, for fishing purposes, and other facilities 
thereby afforded. 

In most instances ou the Pedee where these remains are 
yet to be seen, are found large collections of fragments of 
pot-ware of varied shapes, sizes, and devices. It is difficult 
even to conjecture why such quantities of these were de- 
posited at points not far removed from each other. They 
could scarcely have been the result of large accumulations 
in those places where the pot-Mare was made, for they are 
generally found to be well-finished specimens of their kind, 
and evidently parts of vessels which were once in use. Nor 
does it appear to be a well-founded opinion, sometimes 
advanced, that upon the sudden breaking up of the Indian 
settlements, for whatever cause, these vessels of ornament 
or use were heaped together in one confused mass, and 
with such other chattels as could not be removed, aban- 
doned for ever. Their appearance indicates that they were 
broken by violence ; and what is more remarkable, of all 
the specimens taken up at random in any single locality, 
scarcely any two are found to be exactly alike in outward 
device and finish. 



22 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

The ornamental lines and figures on the exterior are in 
many cases well executed, and for the untutored savage, ex- 
hibit a high degree of art. The questions, how they were 
broken, why collected in such strangely-mingled masses, 
and why other remains, as the pipe, the arrow-head, the 
stone axe, &c., are not generall}'^ found among them, will 
remain unanswered; and like so much else we would fain 
know respecting these early occupants of the soil, continue 
perhaps among the secret things of their history. 

A large vase or jar,* of three gallons' capacity, was washed 
up a few years since by the waters of a freshet on the east bank 
of the Pedee, in Marlborough district, near Spark's Ferry. It 
is in a state of almost entire preservation, but not so highly 
finished as are many of the broken specimens which have 
been recovered. Like those to which Lawson alludes, in 
his account of the Congerees, this jar has a hole in the 
bottom, not smoothly cut, but roughly and irregularly 
made, as if punched through by some blunt instrument 
after the vessel was finished. Lawson supposes that they 
were sometimes used for burial purposes, and that the holes 
were made in the bottom to let off the morbid juices of the 
body going to decay. Some of the specimens of pot-ware 
found are highly finished ; and, upon the whole, appear to 
warrant the conclusion arrived at by the first and most 
thoughtful travellers among our Indian tribes, and since 
clearly demonstrated by the results of later explorations, 
that those whom the Europeans found, on their first 
discovery and settlement of the country, were not the 
ancient dwellers in this part of the new world. 

" The earthen pots,'' says Lawson, '' are often found 
under ground, and at the foot of the banks, where the 
water has washed them away. They are for the most part 
broken in pieces ; but we find them of a different sort, in 
comparison of those the Indians use at this day, who have 
had no others ever since the English discovered America. 
The bowels of the earth cannot have altered them, since 
they are thicker, of another shape and composition, and 



* This vessel was presented to the Cheraw Lyceum, by Col. J. D. Wilson, of 
Darlington. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 23 

nearly approach to the urns of the ancient Romans/^''^ We 
are told that they made earthen pots of very different sizes, 
so as to contain from two to ten gallons ; large jntchers to 
carry water, bowls, dishes, platters, basons, and a prodigious 
number of other vessels of such antiquated forms, that it 
would be almost impossible to describe them. 

Some of the specimens, in a fragmentary form, and 
others in a state of preservation, which were found on the 
Pedee, are of different shapes, and curiously finished. Of 
these one is very small, not holding more than a gill, and 
seems to have been used for paint, or some other valuable 
liquid. 

Another,t of which the lower portion only is left, has the 
exact shape, the outward finish, and as much the appearance 
of a pineapple as if it had been carefully fashioned after that 
as a model. The process of glazing was simple, and con- 
sisted in placing the vessels over a large fire of smoky pitch 
pine, which made them smooth and shining. " Their lands 
abounded in proper clay for that use, and even with porce- 
lain, as has been proved by experiment.^^ "WTien first dis- 
covered on the coast, the Indians were found to cultivate a 
variety of grains and vegetables. The process of clearing 
their lands has been minutely described. Their stone axes, 
of which specimens have been found on the Pedee, resembled 
a wedge or smithes chisel, and weighed from one to two or 
three pounds. They twisted two or three tough hickory slips 
about two feet long round the notched head of the axe, and 
by means of this simple contrivance deadened the trees by 
cutting through the bark, after which they fell by decay, or 
having become thoroughly dry, were easily burned. 

With these trees they kept up their annual holy fire. In 
the first clearing of their plantations they only barked the 
larger timber, cut down the saplings and underwood, and 
burned them in heaps. As the suckers put up, they chopped 
them off close by the stump, and so made fires to deaden 
the roots, till in time they also decayed. The burning of 
the grass and underwood in the forests is said to have been 
an ancient custom of the Indians. This may account for 

* Lawson, pp. 169, 170. 
f This was also presented to the Cheraw Lyceum by Col. Wilson. 



24 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

the fact which has been mentioned in connexion with the 
first settlements by the whites in the interior, that in many 
places the woods were found open to such an extent that 
even small objects could be seen to a great distance. These 
burnings were practised by the Indians, as we are told, " in 
order to allure the deer upon the new grass, as also to dis- 
cover the impressions of their enemies^ tracks in the new 
burnt ground, distinguishable to their women and children, 
in case the raven should be sick or out of the way (thus they 
call the look-out, whose business it is to recognise the 
avenues of their towns), who, as well as any other Indian 
(as they all apply themselves to hunting) are by practice so 
keen and precise, that they can distinguish and follow a 
track, be it of a white man, negro, Indian, or be it of a bear, 
deer or wolf, horse or cow, even on hard bottom, not ad- 
mitting of impression so as on soft ground, although covered 
all over with leaves, so that the ground itself is not visible, 
and even bare of any grass or bushes, which by their irregular 
bend may indicate a creature — human or animal — having 
trod upon or brushed by it/^^ Having cleared their lands 
in the primitive manner before described, the Indians used, 
in planting and tilling, their own made instruments. After- 
wards a common hoe was the only implement employed in 
the cultivation of the soil. They prepared their corn for use 
by beating it till the husks came off, then boiling it in large 
earthen pots. For pounding the corn, mortars were made 
by cautiously burning a large log to a proper level and 
length, then placing a fire on the top and wet clay around 
it in order to give the interior a proper shape. When the 
fire was extinguished, or occasion required, they chopped the 
inside with their stone instruments, patiently continuing the 
process until they finished the vessel for the intended 
purpose. 

In certain localities on the Pedee, which appear to have 
been the centresf of their once extensive settlements, many 
tumuli were once to be seen. 



* B. R. A., H. M.'s Philosophico-Historico-Hydrogeography of South Caro- 
lina, Georgia, and East Florida, 1751. Edited and republished by Plowden, 
C. J. Weston, 1856. P. 189. 

t The plantation of the late James M'Call, Esq., in Darhngton District, on 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 25 

Tliey were similar to some of those described by Bartram* 
in East Florida, near the river St. Juan ; " where/^ he ob- 
serves, " I found the surface of the ground very uneven by 
means of little mounts and ridges. I had taken up my 
lodging on the border of an ancient burying-ground ; 
sepulchres or tumuli of the Yamassees, who were here 
slain by the Creeks in their last decisive battle. These 
graves occupied the whole grove, consisting of two or three 
acres of ground.^^ 

During a visit of the author in 1859 to the upper part of 
Marlborough District, near the North Carolina line, a 
mound was pointed out to him which is related by tradition 
to have been the scene of an Indian battle. On a subse- 
quent occasion it was visited for the purpose of exploration. 
It appears to have been raised originally but a few feet 
above the surface of the adjoining level, and had been almost 
entirely washed down. Its dimensions were about ten by 
fifteen feet. Many years before, a partial excavation had 
been made, and in digging down on this occasion for a short 
distance small pieces of bone were found mixed with the 
earth throughout, so that no opinion could be formed as to 
the depth of the first layer of bodies. Four feet below the sur- 
face a point was reached where the soil had not been disturbed, 
and a little below this were found from four to six skele- 
tons, lying regularly, in a horizontal position, with the feet 
to the east, having evidently been placed in two layers. The 
larger bones were in a comparative state of preservation, and 
one of the jawbones with the teeth entire, apparently of a 
person about middle age. With the bones were found a 
stone hatchet, a beautiful arrow-head, and a pipe, and strange 
to relate, the smell of tobacco about the pipe was perceptible 
for several hours after the exhumation. The tradition re- 
lating to the battle and the burial was well founded, and 
carried them nearly a century back. 

As to tobacco, the Indians affirmed, as some of the 
earliest travellers among them inform us, that the use of it 



the Pedee, is an instance of this, wheve many remains of the kind were once 
visible, though now for the most part levelled by the plough. 

* Bartram's "Travels in the Curolinas, Georgia, East and West Florida," 
1773-74. 



26 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

was known to them before the Europeans discovered the 
continent. The skill of the Indians in medicine^ in certain 
diseases, was remarkable, the process of cure being simple 
and expeditious. The knowledge of some of the most 
valuable plants now in use was derived from them.* 

Some of the customs of the Indians of Carolina indicated 
a degree of kindness and social affection, as well as an ap- 
preciation of duty, of which they are not generally supposed 
to have been possessed. When, for example, one of their 
own nation had suffered any loss by fire, or otherwise, he 
was ordered to make a feast, to which all the tribe was in- 
vited. After they had partaken of the feast, one of their 
speakers, generally a grave old man, delivered a harangue, 
informing them of the particulars of the loss sustained, and 
of their duty under such circumstances. After which, every 
man, according to his quality, threw down some present 
upon the ground, of beads, skins, furs, or other valuables, 
which often amounted to treble the loss incurred. 

So, if one wished to build a canoe, or make a cabin, 
they rendered him assistance, saying, "There were several 
works which one man could not effect, and that therefore 
they must help him ; otherwise their society would fall, and 
they would be deprived of those urgent necessities which 
life requires.'^ If a woman lost her husband, and had a 
large family of children to maintain, she was always assisted. 
The young men of the tribe were made to plant, reap, and 
do anything she was not capable of doing herself. At the 
same time they would not suffer any one to be idle, but 
compelled all to employ themselves in some work or 
other.f 

As to religion, they believed generally that the world was 
round, and that there were two spirits, the one good and 
the other bad. The good spirit they reckoned to be the 
author and maker of everything. It was He, they said, 
who gave them the fruits of the earth ; and taught them 
to hunt, fish, and be wise enough to overpower the beasts 
of the wilderness and all other creatures, that they might 
be assistant and beneficial to man. They did not believe 

* Lawson, p. 172. f Lawson, pp. 178, 179. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 27 

that the good Spirit punished any man in this life, or that 
to come, but that he delighted in doing good, and in making 
his creatures wise and happy. The bad Spirit (who lived, 
as they thought, separate from the good spirit) they made 
the author of sickness, disappointment, loss, hunger, travail, 
and all the misfortunes that human life is incident to. 
Some of our aborigines were found to have traditions of the 
great Deluge, and of this event they gave a curious descrip- 
tion. Of some of their practices, and one in particular, 
Lawson gives a singular account. He says : " Several 
customs are found in some families, which others keep not ; 
as, for example, the families of the Mach-a-pangas use the 
Jewish custom of circumcision, and the rest do not ; neither 
did I ever know any other amongst the Indians that prac- 
tised any such thing ; and perhaps if you ask them what is 
the reason they do so, they will make you no manner of 
answer : which is as much as to say, I will not tell you.^^* 
They seemed to have been unwilling, for the most part, to 
give any account of their customs, particularly those of a 
religious character. 

And so, the same writer remarks, that he knew them, for 
days together, to be amongst their idols and dead kings, 
though he could never get admittance to their sacred places 
to see what they were doing. The fact of their practising 
idolatry at all has been positively denied by other travellers, 
who profess to have informed themselves of all that relates 
to their habits and customs. It is likely that the different 
tribes, remote from each other, and possibly of different 
origin, differed much in their customs and traditional obser- 
vances, and hence the conflicting accounts which have been, 
given. Of one custom, remarkable as it is suggestive, which 
Lawson affirms to have prevailed among the Indians of Carolina, 
and of which no other writer is believed to give any account, 
it may gratify the curiosity of the reader to be informed. 
It is very certain that it must have nipped the risings of 
aboriginal Young Americanism in the bud, leaving to a far 
superior race to exhibit, in the management of their youth, 
much more indecision and weakness. 



* Lawson, pp. 210, 211. 






>4 



•>0 



*v- ■ ■; 



niHTOItV OK IMK Of,J> MfKI.'A WH. 'J;i) 

(iwiiy (it. llidl liiric. Jo fiv»»i(l i(.. ,\i(w, llir pii.vii./i-.R miy, jf it 
wfiH ii(»l for t.liin, tlicy could not keep l,lii;ir yoiitii in niib- 
jcclioii : IteMidcH tlifil' il lifinlchN (.licio after to iJic i'nlmm-.n 
of wfir, iitiritiii^, utid nil riMi>itM-r <>i liurdRJiip, wlileli Uieir 
way (»r living expoM-.H llicin |,o, I'cMidcH, tliey add, tliat it 
rarrics oil' tliour; inHnri, w<Mik liorliew, that, w<;idd liavc liccn 
only a Nnrdcn and (Wn^^rncr, to i\n;\r nation, and ttfivcn the 
vicf.iMiIrt nnd (iloat.liitij^ for hcttcr (leoplc, that would have 
l)(( n (•x|>cnd<;d on Ndch iinrdenn ereatnren."*'' 

LaWRon in the. otdy one; of tin; early Indian traveJIerw in 
South (.'andina, (;X(t(;|)t Lederer, wIki ))aNHed thn>n^h thoM; 
|inrt>i of the Stiitt; inhahitfd hy the, aneiefit dw(-JlerN on the 
l'< dec. A larj^e part of IiIh ho<;k, however, in taken up 
with the niilural hintory of North (Carolina. ile e"(;rnrn(;ne<;d 
a journey IVoni ( MinrlcMtown, l)e(!(!rnhr;r 2Htli, 1700, paHH<;d 
up tlu; Santee aiul Wn.t( ree IMverM, arul thenee ()rrdiahly 
aeroHM to the Yadkin, nnd Ihrou;^!! North ('arolitia into 
Vir;^inia. Anion;.^ (Im; (!iitavvhaM he fnUMt have met with 
the ('heniWH nnd I'rdceM, if not in the partn hi{.;h<:r up on 
oio' own river, lli()U^';li he does not mention them hy name, 
III Hpeidun;.; therciore of the ('arolina IndiiuiH (.generally, 
Ihh riiniirkM will ii|»|ily to IIicmc, aH well as otIierH m(>i'e par- 
tieultii ly nicnl ioiicd. 

A lew yearn niter he wiut put to death in a most harha- 
rouH ninuner hy the liidiniiH in j'la'ttern North ('aiolina; to 
which Sliilc he li.'id n'iHl( red moHt important Hcrvicc at* 
Siuviyor ( Icnci III, as well as hy his int(;i'eMtin^ account of 
the Niiliiral llisloryof thnt re;^ion. 

The iiiillHir III, one limit cherished the hope (tf [iroeurillfj 
HOinc! viiliinhlc Iraditionnl niiiltcrnHto the ('heraws, throu^^h 
Win. il, 'rhomtiH, i'lHij., of North ('arolina, of whom nu:ri- 
tioil luiM iilreinly heeti iiiiiilc. It was tliou;^lit not unlikely 
that during his Inn^ nnd fiuuiliar intercoiirHe with tin; ('a- 
tawhiiM, Mr. 'riionins mi;;ht havit leathered from their tradi- 
tioiiM Mometliiiiff of llic hisloiy of tiie (-lieraws heforc the 
Uiiiiui of the IrilicN ; hut tliir hope wns disajipointt^d. The 
tradition of the ('atawhas, already related, scciim tu be all 



liiiwMDii, ])|>. 2:)n-ni. 



30 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

they have preserved. Every other source of information, 
now accessible, has been exhausted. And with the account 
here given, meagre and unsatisfactory as it is, we must be 
content, leaving these early occupants of the soil, proud and 
valiant and numerous as they once were, in that darkness 
and oblivion, to which the red man, as he has receded west- 
ward before the advancing tide of civilization, has ever been 
consigned. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 31 



CHAPTER II. 

First settlements in the province — Establishment of counties — Craven County 

Some account of it — The boundaries and extent^DifBculty as to dividing 
line between Craven and Berkeley — Province divided into ten parishes — 
First parocliial organization in Craven County — St. James' Santee — Its 
extent — Prince George — Its boundaries — Prince Frederick next established 
— Settlement of line between Prince George and Prince Frederick — Letter 
of Col. Pawley — Petition and counter-petition to Council on the subject — 
Pedee not known in early history of province — History of dispute as to 
dividing line between North and South Carolina on the north-east and north 
— Some account of the survey — Conclusion. 

Many years passed away after the first settlements on 
the coast of Carolina before they began to extend very far 
into the iiiterior. The country had not been explored, and 
the Indian, jealons of encroachment upon his hitherto un- 
interrupted domain, was hovering with murderous design 
upon the borders of civilization. It was necessary, there- 
fore, for their own protection, that the whites should remain 
together, and cautiously advance, as accessions were made 
to their numbers, in search of richer lands towards the 
middle and upper parts of the province. In the meantime 
the people, who had hitherto lived under a kind of military 
government, now began to form a legislature for establish- 
ing civil regulation. Accordingly, the first parliament (as 
it was styled) held in South Carolina, was called together 
in 1674 ; and at this meeting acts were passed, which were 
ratified by the proprietors, and preserved in the records of 
the colony.* 

In 1682, it was found necessary to divide the inhabited 
parts of the province into counties, of which three were 
laid out — Berkeley, embracing Charlcstown, and the space 
around the capital, extended from Sewee on the north to 
Stono Creek on the south ; beyond this to the northward 
was Craven county ; and to the southward Colleton county, 
all extending within the land to a distance of thirty-five 



* Hewitt's " History of S. C." in 1st Carroll, p. 59. 



32 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

miles from tlie sea-coast."^ Shortly after^ Carteret county 
was added to the numiber. These counties were subdivided 
into squares of 12,000 acres each, for the several shares of 
the proprietors, land-graves, and cassiques.f 

Craven, formerly denominated Clarendon county, em- 
braced in its subsequent extension a much larger territory 
than the other counties. From Berkeley, on the south, it 
reached towards Cape Fear on the north, and with North 
Carolina for one boundary on the north and north-east, and 
the Santee and its branches on the other sides, it extended 
through a wide belt of country from the sea-coast to the 
mountains. 

At the time of the division into counties. Craven was so 
sparsely settled as not to be politically considered. But, 
twenty years afterwards, it was described as being pretty 
well inhabited, the Huguenots having settled on the Santee, 
about which time it sent ten members to the Assembly. It 
took its name from William, Earl of Craven, one of the 
first lord proprietors, and long retained it. 

This county embraced the region of the Pedee through- 
out its course, from the North Carolina line southward. 
Some account, therefore, of its political divisions will be 
given, extending down to the period of those settlements in 
the upper parts of the Pedee country, to which attention is 
to be directed. 

Not long after the di\dsion, some disputes appear to have 
arisen as to the dividing line between Berkeley and Craven 
counties, and an Act of Assembly J was passed in 1733 to 
settle the same. 

The first parochial organization in Craven County was 
under an Act of Assembly of 1706, commonly called the 
Church Act, passed for the establishment of religious wor- 
ship according to the Church of England, and for erecting 
churches. 

It divided the Province into ten parishes, of which Craven 
County constituted one, by the name of St. James, Santee. § 



* Rivers' " History S. C." p. 134. 
■f" Oldmixon in Carroll's " Collection," vol. ii. p. 409. 
X " Public Laws of So. Ca." p. 176. 
§ " Statutes at Large of S. C." vol. ii. p. 330. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 33 

By a further declaratory Act passed in 1708, the bounds of 
the several Parishes were defined, and those of St. James, 
Santee, were restricted as follows : — " To the N.E. by 
Santee River, to the S.E. by the Sea, and to the S.W. by 
Berkeley County/^ In 1721* the Parish of Prince George, 
Winyaw, was established, — bounded " on the S.W. by San- 
tee River, on the N.E. by the Cape Fear River, on the 
East by the Ocean, and on the West as far as it shall be 
inhabited by his Majesty's subjects.^' Up to this time, 
however, the settlements had not extended far to the north 
and north-westward. 

They were gradually going up along the line of the 
rivers, with their rich alluvial bottoms. The population of the 
Province receiving constant accessions from abroad, began 
at length to find its way into the interior ; and the need of 
extending organizations was felt, with the privilege of repre- 
sentation and other facilities for progress which would be 
thereby aflbrded. In 1 731, this need of a portion of the 
inhabitants of Craven County was recognised, and a further 
division took place ; the Parish of Prince Frederick being 
established, and taken from that of Prince George, Winyaw, 
embracing, according to the terms of the Act, ,the region of 
the Upper Pedee on the West.f 

It was soon after found, however, that this division was 
not sufficiently definite as to the Northern line. Accordingly 
in the following year, 1735, the Act was so changed as to 
make the said line extend due North over Pedee River to 
the utmost bounds of the Province, it being provided " that 
the tract of land to the East of the said line, between that 
and the Sea, should be deemed as part of the Parish of 
Prince George, Winyaw, and on the other side of the said 
line to the West, a part of the Parish of Prince Frederick." J 

Of the existence and operation of this amending Act, 
there appears to have been a singular oversight at a later 
period, as will be seen hereafter. 

Dissatisfaction still continued to exist as to the dividing 
line between the two Parishes, on account of its extension 



* 3 " Statutes," p. 171. t 3 " Statutes at Large," p. 374. 

;J; " Public Laws," p. 141. 



34 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS. 

across tlie Pedee. The foUowiug letter of Colonel Greoi^e 
Pawley brought the matter to the notice of Council : — 

" June 7th. 1739. 

" Please your Honour. — I think it my duty to inform 
TOUT Honour that the dividing line of Prince George and 
Prince Frederick's Parishes is not yet iinished according to 
the additional Act made, which vas to cross Pedee River, 
and continue a North course till it touch the Provincial line ; 
which, if it is done, will, in my humble opinion, break that 
small company as is of late erected on that Xeck lying be- 
tween Great Pedee and Little Pedee rivers : also, it will 
cross some part of Queensborough Town-ship, which is a 
Parish of itself. Therefore, if your Honour pleases to think 
on it, I don t doubt but you will be of the opinion to have 
Great Pedee the boundary of the Parish upward from where 
the line is marked and strikes the said River : for as it now 
stands, there is a confusion among the Inhabitants, not 
knowing in what Parish they belong; also, the Surveyors 
know not how to certify their Plots, some for one Parish and 
some for the other. Therefore, if the river be the Bounds, 
the work is done, and no charge to the Publick ; and that 
your Honour may have a better idea, I have drawn a small 
Draft of the Rivers in these Parts : so I beg your Honour will 
be so good as to forgive, if I have done amiss, for it is not 
my intent so to do, but the hearty desire for the good of 
the place. So beg leave to subscribe myself your Honour's 
most obedient, himible servant to command, 

" George Pawlet.'^ 

" To tlie Hon-Wm. BolL' 

Whereupon, it was " Ordered, that the Clerk do draw out 
two copies of Mr. George Pawlevs letter, with the Draft of 
the Rivers, one of them to be sent to the Parish of Prince 
Frederick's, the other to be sent to the Parish of Prince 
George, to know whether they have any objection to make 
to the proposals contained in the said letter, for settling the 
Boundary of these Parishes, aud to return an answer.'' 

The matter having thus been referred to the inhabitants, 



• "Cooncil Joomal," No. 7. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 35 

action was taken by them ; and on the 25th of January, 
174.2, a Petition from sundry inhabitants of Prince George 
was laid before Council,^ praying that the Great Pedee 
might be made the dividing line between the parislies ; 
" because, as it was to be seen by the Act of 1734-35, it 
would divide the narrow strip of laud between Great and 
Little Pedee rivers, and run alternately in the swamp of 
one or the other, which Avould be impracticable to run, and 
the branches of Little Pedee would sometimes make it dif- 
ficult to distinguish that river, the lakes, &c/^ This petition 
was signed by George Pawley, John Woodbury, David 
Cherrey, and thirty-eight others. 

A counter petition was at the same time presented by 
John Avant, and nineteen others, inhabitants of Prince Fre- 
derick's, praying the line should not be so run : 

" 1st. Because the Inhabitants residing between the said 
rivers are twelve miles and upwards nearer to our Parish 
Church than to George -town. 

"^ 2ud. The major part of the abovesaid inhabitants must 
go through our Parish and pass by our Church to public 
worship, and other religious duties, and other officers to 
George-town. 

" 3rd. Because the said inhabitants humbly pray to be 
included in the River. 

'' 4th. Because the Town-ship of Queensborough is laid 
on both sides of Great Pedee river; and 

" 5th. That whenever the Legislature shall be pleased to 
erect the Town-ship of Queensborough and Williamsburg 
into separate Parishes, this of Prince Frederick's being the 
oldest Parish (from which Prince George was divided), will 
be confined to narrow limits, and consequently for ever 
remain one of the smallest, if not poorest. Parishes in the 
Province, if so valuable a branch as that of Pedee be taken 
from it. 

" We further presume to acquaint your Hon''^ that the 
North line appointed by Act of Assembly to be run from 
John Bogg's plantation, on Black River, was supposed and 
intended (by our Representatives) to make Pedee River at or 



* " Council Journal," No. 8, pp. 454, 455. 

o 2 



'SQ HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

below the plantation, Euhanej^, belonging to Mr. Percival 
Pawley, about eighteen miles distant from said Bogg's plan- 
tation ; but we now find that a North course excludes fi'om 
this Parish sundry families residing on Pedee River, near 
the line as it is now marked, who constantly attend divine 
service in this Parish, being about twelve miles distant from 
our Church, and at least twenty-two miles from George- 
town. 

" We therefore pray your Hon'^ to relieve the Inha- 
bitants by ordering the dividing line to be run on a straight 
course, which shall be done on our own proper charges, 
from Bogg's plantation to EuLauey, that the Pedee River 
be the boundary to the mouth of Little Pedee, Avhich is 
about fifteen miles above said Euhaney, and that Little 
Pedee river and the main branch thereof be the natural 
bounds up to the Provincial linc.^' 

The Petitions were ordered to lie on the table. 
As, according to the original term of extension, when 
the Parish of Prince George, Winy aw, was created, so now 
Prince Frederick was made to embrace a large part of the 
hitherto uninhabited and valuable region stretching out to 
the North-westward. 

More than twenty years after, in 1757, the Parish of 
Prince Frederick was divided; " the inhabitants of the upper 
parts of the same by their Petition to the General Assembly 
having represented many inconveniences they labored under, 
for the want of such a di\asion." An Act was therefore 
passed, dividing Prince Frederick into two Parishes, " by 
continuing the North-westernmost line of Williamsburg 
Township to Pedee and Santee rivers ; all the lands to the 
Southward of the said line, constituting a distinct Parish by 
itself, separate from the other part of Prince Frederick, and 
thereafter to be known as St. Mark's." The Parish of St. 
Mark's therefore embraced that portion of Craven County 
which was west of the Pedee and north of said line. But, 
returning to the Parochial organization as it was in 1734r, 
and following up the valley of the Pedee through the then 
Parish of Prince Frederick's, a distance of about fifty miles, 
the traveller would have entered at what is now ^Nlariou 
District, with Darlington and Chesterfield above on the 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 37 

west, and Marlborough on the east of the Pedee, the terri- 
tory, to the early settlement and subsequent progress of 
which attention is to be given. 

Though more than seventy miles in length, from its 
southern bounds to the line of North Carolina above, and 
in width from thirty to fifty, abounding in every variety of 
soil, and presenting no mean facilities for transportation by 
water, this inviting region, until within a few years before, 
had remained entirely unexplored. 

There is nothing to indicate that any settlements had 
been made previous to the year 1730. 

Indeed, little was then known of this part of the Pro- 
vince. In some of the descriptions of Carolina, written not 
many years before the time referred to, the Pedee is not so 
much as mentioned by name. And in an account published 
as much as a half century later, after the mention of seve- 
ral rivers of importance, among which the Pedee is not 
classed, it is simply added, " There are many other Rivers 
and Creeks of lesser note.""^ 

Before any settlements were made in the upper part of 
Craven County, some difficulty had occurred in determining 
the line between South and North Carolina, which line 
bounded Craven on the north and north-east. After the 
resignation of the Lord's Proprietors, in July 1 729, and the 
consequent change of Government, the Province of Carolina, 
hitherto one, was divided, by order of the Council, into 
North and South Carolina.f That part of the Province, 
described generally as lying south and west of Cape Fear, 
became South Carolina. The exact limits of each were now 
to be defined, and, as was to be expected, disputes arose 
respecting the boundary line, before it was finally settled. 
In 1732 appeared the first public communications of a con- 
flicting character between the Governors of the respective 
Provinces. This controversy led to instructions from the 
king to the Governor of North Carolina, in which it was 
said : " in order to prevent any disputes that may arise 
about the Southern boundaries of our Province under your 
Government, we are graciously pleased to signify our plea- 



* 2 Carroll, p. 263. t "Statutes," pp. 405-6. 



38 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

sure that a line shall be run by Commissioners^ appointed 
by each Province^ beginning at the sea^ thirty miles dis- 
tant from the mouth of Cape Fear river, on the South-West 
thereof, keeping at the same distance from the said river, 
as the course thereof runs to the main source or head 
thereof, and from thence the said boundary line shall be 
continued due west as far as the South Seas/'* 

Agreeably to these instructions, the first survey was made 
in 1735, under the authority of the Royal Government. It 
commenced at the mouth of Little River, on the sea-shore ; 
was extended in a north-west direction 64^ miles, to a point 
two miles north-west of one of the branches of Little 
Pedee. In 1737, the line was extended in the same direc- 
tion 22 miles, to a stake in a meadow, which was erro- 
neously supposed to be at the point of intersection with the 
35th degree of north latitude. The entire length of the 
two lines is 86 miles 174 poles. In 1764, 24th September, 
James Moore, George Pawley, Samuel Wiley, and Arthur 
Mackay, under the direction of Governor Dobbs, of North 
Carolina, and Governor Bull, of South Carolina, extended 
the boundary due west from the stake at which the line of 
1 737 terminated, the distance of 62 miles ; intersecting the 
Charles-town road at 61 miles, to a point near the Washaw 
Creek. In 1772 the line was extended from this point, 
imder the authority of Governor Trj^on, to the Tryon 
Mountain ; and the controversy, which commenced with the 
formation of our constitution, and was unsettled until 
1813, between North and South Carolina, grew out of it.f 

Afterward, a part of the line of 1772 was re-run, and the 
line then extended to the westward until it reached a point 
of intersection with the boundary of Georgia. 

In a description of South Carolina, supposed to have 
been written by Governor Glen about the year 1761, this 
subject is referred to, and certain reasons are there assigned 
for the continuance of the dispute. He says : " The Northern 
boundary of South Carolina is not so well agTced upon as 



* 1 Statutes, p. 406. 
t Governor Swain's " Letter to Dr. Cooper, 27th March, 1835," 1 " Statutes 
at Large," p. 409. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 39 

might be expected, which is owing to the dishonest inten- 
tions of many lawless people, settled in those parts without 
legal titles, and not to any want of lattentioa in Govern- 
ment, nor to any difficulty in the thing itself; but these 
people, by keeping up a dispute about the boundaries of 
North and South Carolina, evade paying quit-rents for their 
lands, &c. ; and so long as they can enjoy the protection of 
Government without contributing their quotas towards the 
expenses of it, they will be keeping up the dispute about 
boundaries. This they have hitherto done in such manner 
as to defeat the good intentions of all the Orders and 
Instructions from time to time given for terminating these 
disputes and ascertaining the Boundary, which, in his 
Majesty^s Instructions, is directed to be done by running 
a line thirty miles to the southward of Cape Fear River, 
parallel to, and observing the course of^j that River to its 
head, for the Boundary on that side ; and though this order 
is not only too explicit to be mistaken, but hath been put in 
execution, or at least is said to have been so, the good 
intention of it nevertheless continues to be evaded/^"^ 

A part of the line on the north-east and north, 
constitutes that portion of the present boundaries of Marl- 
borough and Chesterfield Districts, once embraced in 
Craven County. The tradition has been handed down, that 
the Commissioners appointed to make the survey, besides 
being ignorant of or inattentive to the difference between 
a statute and a geographical mile, were not at all times in a 
fit condition for the work, and that they took advantage of 
each other in behalf of their respective States, as oppor- 
tunity offered, or over-excitement, on one side or the other, 
in the course of their gleeful expedition, happened to pre- 
vail. The truth of the matter, as those who have had 
occasion in later times, in surveying lands, to follow the 
track which the Commissioners pursued, agree in stating, 
appears to be this, — that its irregular, zigzag course indi- 
cates either gross carelessness in all the parties concerned, 
or, that the work was beg-un and ended in a common frolic, 
at the expense of both States. 



* 2 Carroll, pp. 178-9. 



40 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

But tlius it liappeneclj tliat the dispute "which took its 
rise prior to the year 1732, was not adjusted in all its de- 
tails until near a eentury after ; the Act for ratifying and 
confirming the joint work of the Convention of Commis- 
sioners, appointed for the establishment of the dividing line 
between the two States, not having been passed by the 
Legislature of South Carolina until the year 1815. In 
addition to the causes alluded to by Governor Glen, and 
whicli were doubtless operative in protracting the contro- 
versy ; it is to be remarked, that there is a feeling of State 
pride likely to be excited by the continuance of such dis- 
putes, a feeling often as influential with States as with 
individuals. There are also peculiar difficulties in the way 
of adjusting such disputes, growing out of the extensive 
and somewhat unwieldy organization of States, and of the 
necessary agency of intermediate and often irresponsible 
parties. 

Acting, too, at long intervals, it happens that errors, 
which miglit at first have been readily exposed, become 
deeply rooted with the lapse of time, and matters, trivial in 
themselves, are so magnified, that the controversies respect- 
ing them become in the end exceeding difficult of adju^st- 
ment. It is to be hoped, that these States, originally but 
one Province, under the common name of " Caroliua,^^ and 
bound together by many affecting associations as well as 
local ties, will never again have their good understanding 
and harmony distiu'bed by conflicting claims or border diffi- 
culties ; and with their last dispute buried along the line of 
the now established boundary, will remain one, and only 
one in every element of common peace and common pros- 
perity hereafter. 

Returning to the year 1734', when the Act was passed 
for establishing the parish of Prince Frederick, we find in 
that, and also Prince George, Winyaw previously embrac- 
ing that part of Craven County to the northward, the 
parochial organizations within the bounds of which the 
first settlements were made in the upper parts of the Pedce. 

It is a pleasing task, in tracing the early history of any 
region, to contemplate the change from a state of unde- 
veloped resources in the hands of the wandering savage, to 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 41 

the first triumphs of civilization by a superior race, how- 
ever feeble and unpretending their efforts. This, for a time, 
will be our employment. Of the early settlements on the 
Pedee, extending through a period of more than thirty 
years, some account will be given. 

Through the aid of a few individuals, who having a taste 
for such inquiries, had gathered some information as to the 
history of families, and of valuable manuscript matter for- 
tunately discovered here and there, with the more impor- 
tmt light thrown upon the early emigration to this part of 
the State by its public records, the author succeeded be- 
yond his most sanguine expectations at the first, in collect- 
ing material for his work. 

If nothing more shall be accomplished, it will serve at 
least to rescue for those who cannot fail to cherish it, much 
that would otherwise have passed into oblivion. 



42 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



CHAPTER III. 

Inducements held out to Settlers in the Province — Progress of Population — The 
Plan of Townships — Its effect in inducing Immigration — Location of Town- 
ship on the Pedee — Proceedings of the Council respecting it — Draft of 
Queensborough Township — The Welch Tract — Proceedings of Council on 
the subject — The Survey — Its Limits — Why enlarged — The Welch — 
Other Settlers— The Welch Neck — The Welch Colony — Church Organiza- 
tion — Continued Immigration — Names of Settlers — Term of Welch Grant 
extended — Immigration direct from Wales — Bounties offered by Govern- 
ment — Names of Grantees — Difficulties encountered by the Welch — Petition 
for Relief — Bounties continued — Notice of other early Settlers — Their Diffi- 
culties with the Welch— Exclusive Policy of the Welch — Accounts of diffe- 
rent Families — The Welch Settlement— Its Progress — Welch Traits. 

From the time of its first settlement, it was esteemed a 
matter of the utmost importance for the safety and prospe- 
rity of the Province that its population should increase as 
rapidly as possible. 

To this end, every inducement was held out to immigra- 
tion. The royal bounty was promised, in various forms, to 
the poor and oppressed of other lands to make America 
their home. 

The unoccupied territory of the New World, fair and 
fertile, and teeming in boundless resources, was declared to 
be open to the over-burdened industry and fruitless enter- 
prise of the densely populated States of Europe. Thus 
encouraged, large accessions were made, at successive 
periods, to our infant settlements. 

From 1696 to 1730, although its population gradually 
increased, no large addition was made, at any one time, 
to the inhabitants of Carolina. About the latter year, a 
new scheme was adopted to promote the settlement of the 
province, which proved successful beyond the most sanguine 
expectations of Government. Governor Johnson was in- 
structed " to mark out eleven Townships, in square plots, on 
the sides of rivers, consisting each of twenty thousand 
acres, and to divide the land within them into shares of 
fifty acres for each man, woman, and child that should come 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 43 

over to occupy and improve them. Each township was to 
form a Parish^ and all the inhabitants were to have an equal 
right to the river. As soon as the Parish should increase to 
the number of a hundred families^ they were to have the 
right to send two members of their own election to the 
Assembly, and to enjoy the same privileges as the Parishes 
already established. Each settler was to pay four shillings 
a year for every hundred acres of land, excepting the first 
ten years, during which term they were to be rent free. 
Governor Johnson issued a warrant to St. John, Surveyor- 
General of the Province, empowering him to go and mark 
out these townships ; but he having demanded an exorbitant 
sum of money for his trouble, the members of the Council 
agreed among themselves to do this piece of service for their 
country. Accordingly, eleven townships were marked out 
by them in the following situations : — Two on the River 
Alatamaha, two on Savanna, two on Santee, one on Pedee, 
one on Waccamaw, one on Wateree, and one on Black 
River.''* 

The township on the Pedee was called Queensborough ; 
and to the time of its being marked out — 1731-32 — or a 
period but little subsequent, is to be assigned the date of our 
first settlements. There was no delay in the execution of 
this work (of marking out the townships), which had been 
committed to the Governor by his Majesty's Government, 
for building up its waste places, and the more speedy settle- 
ment of the Province. 

The first proceedings with reference to the laying out of 
the townships was in meeting of the Council on Friday, 
March 16th, 1731, in Charles-town ; his Excellency the 
Governor, the Hon. Lieutenant Governor, Messrs. Arthur 
Middleton, Robert Wright, Thomas Waring, John Fenwick, 
and William Bull, being present. It was resolved, " That 
the Hon. Mr. Chief Justice Wright and Alexander Skeene, 
Esq., do mark out three Townships, pursuant to his Majesty's 
instructions for that purpose, a copy of which is to be given 
them, with this resolution — one upon Black River, one upon 
Pedee River, and the other upon Waccamaw River — that 



* 1 Carroll : " Hewitt's History," p. 196. 



44 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

tlicy return Plots of the same to this Board, and that they 
be allowed £500 curreney for each Township out of the 
Public Treasury for marking out the same/'^ Other per- 
sons were also appointed on this occasion to mark out 
townships on other rivers, according to instructions. In 
the followiug year — ^dz., March 1732 — the township on the 
Waccamaw appears to have been laid out, and called Kings- 
ton. " We are assured/' said the Council, in reply to a 
message on the subject from the lower House, " that at 
the time of marking the said Township, there were no set- 
tlements made witliin the same, except one, then begun by 
Jennour, who claimed 700 acres, but by what title M'e 
could not learn, he then being in North Carolina; nor 
were there any other claims made to any lands within the 
Township, that we could hear of, save only by jNIr. William 
Watties, of 500 acres, at a place called Pond Bluff", but not 
then settled/'t 

On the 2nd of June, of the same year, the Commissioners 
made full returns of the plans of the towns and townships, 
which they had marked out, pursuant to a resolution in 
Council, of the 20th of March previous, on AYaccamaw, 
Pedee, and Black Rivers, and were ordered to be paid ac- 
cordingly. From the annexed plot or draft, Queeusborough 
Township appears to have been laid out on the Great Pedee, 
but a short distance above the mouth of Little Pedee lliver, 
embracing a part of what has since been known as Britton 
Neck (a narrow strip of land between the two rivers), and 
extending also on the west side of the Pedee. But for this 
Plot, most unexpectedly found,J the exact location of the 
Township of Queeusborough could not have been deter- 
mined. It was probably a part of the return made by the 
Commissioners, or may have been the " Draft of the Rivers,'' 
accompanying the letter of Colonel Pawley, to Council, of 



* " Council Journal," No. 5. 
+ " Council Journal," No. 5, p. 202. 
J It was discovered by mere accident by the author, on a loose piece of 
paper, on turning over the leaves of what appeared to be the oldest record- 
book in the Secretary of State's office, Columbia, and which was being examined 
as a curious relic of the past. Its contents related to other matters of anterior 
date. 





t'Ei^ >* simn or g ii 



Tovvi. 
T O W X S itsi 




A DRAFT OF 



Ti\KE.\ FROM OLD RECORD BOOK, 

in Secretary of States' Offiee, 

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 45 

June 7th, 1739, in connexion with the dividing line between 
Prince George and Prince Frederick's, which has already 
been given. 

No settlements appear to have been made up to this 
time within the limits of Queensborough Township. To 
encourage such settlements, generally, further action was 
taken by Council. 

On the 14th of February, 1734, it was ordered, '' That 
the several persons who have laid out the several Town-ship^, 
do prepare a rough draft, or plan of a Town, to be layed out 
in each Town-ship, containing about 800 acres, out of which 
a common of 300 acres, to be laid out in the back part, and 
the remaining 500 acres to be lay*^ out in half-acre lots, to 
])e at a convenient distance from the river, which rough 
Draft or Plan, is to be lay'^ before this Board for their con- 
sideration.'^^ 

In accordance with these instructions, the draft or plan 
of a town in Queensborough Townshipf was made, as ap- 
pears from a notice in the Gazette, as late as June 3rd- 
10th, 1751, advertising Lot No. 64, in Queensborough Town. 
There is, however, no evidence remaining to show that the 
town, as such, was ever settled. Its location appears to 
have been on the west bank of the river. The inducements 
held out in connexion with the townships appear to have 
led to a visit of some of the Welch from Pennsylvania for 
the purpose of exploration and settlement, and to the re- 
moval, very shortly after, of the colony, which was destined 
to form so important an element in the history and progress 
of the region of the Upper Pedee. The emigration from 



* " Council Journal," No. 6, pp. 41, 42. 
■|- The Form of a Grant for Lots in the Townships, was as follows: — 

So. Carolina. 

By his Excellency, Esq., Governor, Captain-General and 

Commander in Chief, in and over the Province of So. Carolina. 

To , Esq., Surveyor-General. 

You are forthwith required to admeasure and lay out unto , 

a lot in the town, as also acres in the Township of Queensborough, on the 

Pedee River, in Craven County, observing to lay the same out agreeable to the 

Plan or Model thereof. 

Given under my hand and seal, the day of , Anno Domini 

(Council Journal, No. 5, p. 257.) 



46 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Wales to Pennsylvania^ from wliicli this to Pedee proceeded^, 
" had its beginning/^ we are told^ in the following manner, 
'^ In the spring of 1701, several Baptists in the counties of 
Pembroke and Cairmarthen, resolved to go to Am.erica ; and 
as one of the company, Thomas Griffith, was a minister, 
they were advised to be constituted a Church. They took the 
advice, and the instrument of their confederation was in 
being in 1770, but is now lost or mislaid. The names of 
the confederates were as follows ; viz., Thomas Griffith, 
Griffith Nicholas, Evan Edmond, John Edward, Elisha 
Thomas, Enoch Morgan, Richard David, James David, 
Elizabeth Griffith, Lewis Edmond, Mary John, Mary 
Thomas, Elizabeth Griffith, Tennet David, Margaret Mat- 
thias, Tennet Morris. These sixteen persons, which may 
be styled a Church emigrant, met at Milford Haven, 
in the month of June, 1701, embarked on board the good 
ship William and Mary ; and on the 8th of September 
following, landed at Philadelphia. The brethren there 
treated them courteously, and advised them to settle about 
Pennepec ; thither they went, and there continued about a 
year and a half, during which time their Church increased 
from sixteen to thirty- seven. 

But, finding it inconvenient to tarry about Pennepec, 
they, in 1703, took up land in Newcastle County, from 
Messrs. Evans, Davis, and Willis, who had purchased said 
Welch tract from William Penn, containing upwards of 
30,000 acres, and thither removed the same year, and built 
a little meeting-house on the spot where the present stands. 
This house was a neat brick building, forty feet by thirty. 

The Welch tract was first in the province of Pennsyl- 
vania, afterwards, upon the change of boundaries, in the 
State of Delaware. This will account for the fact, that the 
Welch were sometimes spoken of as being come from Penn- 
sylvania, at other times from Delaware.'^ 

Some of those who were members of the colony on Pedee 
must have followed the first emigration from Wales to 
Pennsylvania, as their names do not appear in the foregoing 
list. 

* Benedict's " History of the Baptists," p. 4. 



HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 47 

The first visit of the Welch to Pedee appears to have 
been made in the latter part of 1735, or early in the follow- 
ing year. It led to a remarkable act of favour on the part 
of the Council, to induce the colony to come. Wishing, on 
their arrival, to settle in a body, and be possessed of ample 
and exclusive privileges as to the occupancy of the soil, they 
petitioned the Government that an extensive tract of land 
might be appropriated to their sole benefit for a certain 
period. This appears from a message of the Lieutenant- 
Governor to the Lower House of Assembly, 2nd February, 
1737, in which he said: — "The late Lieutenant-Governor, 
with the advice of his Majesty ^s Council, thought it 
would greatly tend to the service and strengthening of this 
Province, to grant the petition of several natives of the 
Principality of Wales, in behalf of themselves and others of 
their countrymen, who intended to settle in this Province 
from Great Britain and Pennsylvania, praying the lands 
near the Forks above the Township on Pedee River might 
be reserved and set apart for their use, and Mr. John Ould- 
field, being thought a very proper person, was employed for 
that service. ^^"^ 

The petition here referred to bore date August 13th, 
1 736 ; and having been favourably received by the Council, 
his Majesty^s Surveyor-General, James H. St. John, Esq., 
was instructed to have the said tract laid out. Accordingly, 
he directed a precept to John Ouldfield, bearing date Nov. 
16th, 1736, " to admeasure and lay out, for the Welch 
families that were to be imported to this Province a tract of 
land, containing in the whole one hundred and seventy-three 
thousand eight hundred and forty acres, situated and being 
in Craven County. Ten thousand acres, being part thereof, 
lying within the limits of the Township of Queensborough, on 
the north side of Pedee River, the remainder of said tract 
lying on the south side of said river, and butting and bound- 
ing to the south-east on the reserved lands of the said Town- 
ship of Queensborough, and all other sides on vacant lands 
as are supposed. ^^ 

The survey was made, and a plot thereof returned 29th 



* " Council Journal," No. 5, pp. 51, 52. 



48 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Nov. 1736, of which a copy is annexed.^ With reference to 
this plot, the Lieutenant-Governor sent a message, 2nd 
February, 1737, to the Lower House, saying : — " I send it 
for your satisfaction and perusal, also his (Ouldfield^s) ace* 
which I think so very reasonable, hope you^ make provision 
to pay the same, as the sinking fund is so far short of answer- 
ing the engagements already entered into/^f 

The House replied the next day as follows : — " In answer 
to your Honour's message just now received, with the ac- 
count of Mr. John Ouldfield, for surveying the Welch Tract 
of land on Pedee River, we beg leave to inform youi* 
Honour, that we have perused the said account, and we are 
very much concerned to find, as the ace* is so yexy 
moderate and reasonable, that there should not be money 
sufficient in the Town- ship Fund to discharge it. But we 
hope your Honour will concur with us in oi)inion, that it is 
by no means necessary, nor would be justifiable in us to Tax 
our Constituents to pay any such expence, especially as it 
may be so much more justly and reasonably done by the 
duty on Negroes, should it be thought proper by your 
Hon'', in conjunction with the two Houses of Assembly, 
to revise and continue that Duty, without which we cannot 
foresee any method by which this ace*, or any other of 
the same sort, can, with justice to the People of this Pro- 
vince, be provided for. 

" By order of the House, 

"Charles Pinckney, Speaker.^ 
" Feb. 3, 1737-8." 

The tract thus surveyed, and extending up the river but 
a short distance above Mars Bluff, seems not to have been 
adapted to the wants of the Welch, or to have been a com- 
pliance by Council with their petition of the August previous, 
as was intended. They consequently petitioned again for 
such an extension of the tract as Avould answer all their 
purposes, and enable them to select their lands to advau- 



• 'I'he original Plot was found, in a good state of preservation, among the old 
Township Plots, in the Office of the Secretary of State, Charleston. 

•j- " Council Journal," No. 7, pp. 51, 52. + Ibid. 



A TLOT OF THE 



r jliIjV am. \^K\x%^ 
CONTAINING 173,840 ACRES 
l^ovEinber 16^1730. 



,SWilr of Original Plot ii'> ChxiiiiK perltLcIv. 
A Scale of Copy of Tlxji 320 Ounn.t per Inch. 

^^v^^- 




Jsynches Creek, huthytiteitdxan 
name Signifies LitteUHiver. 



l^.W. 4B^__]280 Chacns 




South CorollTia , ^ ^ „ , , , r ^i t 7 t- rr n-i. 

My vuizte orrrecept to me (Vrectcd by ■lames Jl.Mms,Ks(f~ msMafeslys-mrreyor 
QeneruL leariiuf date the Sixteenth of November. 1736. 1 have admeasurcel and laid out fhr the. Welch fatiuhs tlint 
lUx to be£}ifiorteil tvtkisTrovuiee, a. TrOjdofLnnd contniiunq vi the whole One Amdi'eA aii-d Seventy Hiree... . 
Ilioii.(and,Ili<jhtMimdred and Fort\' Arrs, sihuited ajidieinjj vi (raven ('otutty.Jfn Ihoasanji Acts, beirujpart 
thereof Lying within thje tiiniis of the Hiwnslup of QueeiihornaxilL on theNortli side ofFedej^ Biver,t]u'Se/nAniider 
of Said Tract lymxj on hotii sidvs of said River, Batting & Boiindiruf tv the South Hast oji llw Keservitl l.ajuls 
of the saiil ToivnsJup of (fiteaijfliorottqh .and all other steles on vnc(adLaJtd.s eis is suppo.wd.S hatli sudi 
shape, lonn and mai-ks as aj-e Stpresmteel hythisDeluuut/cd Plot, tliereof given under my htutd, 
'29'.'])iiyofNovenihcr.l736. per me, t Siarhed ) 

Dejiufy Surveyor. 
JSbte.^ This Copy ntade May 22^:1859, -from. Orufin^d Tlot irv Secretarv of Stage's Office . 

Jlepitiy Surveyors. ^ 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 49 

tage. Their request was favourably regarded, as appears 
from the following Proclamation : " By the Hon. Thomas 
Broughton, Esq., Lieut. -Governor, and Commander-in- 
Chief, in and over his Majesty's Province of South 
Carolina. 

'' Whereas, I have this day received information in Coun- 
cil, from Dan^' James, that the Lands which David Lewis, 
Sam^" Wild, and the said Dan^" James, prayed for in 
their petition of 13th August last, to be set apart for the 
Welch Families mentioned therein, were the vacant Lands 
they viewed, and desired might be reserved for them, lying 
on each side of Great Pedee River, and up to the two Main 
Branches thereof, and that the Lands set forth, and pre- 
scribed in the order of Council of the 21st January last, 
are not the Lands they desired, and were assigned them 
agreeable to the said Petition ; nor will these Lands suit 
their intention of planting Hemp and Flax ; and whereas I 
have also received information from the said Dan^' James, 
that several of the said Families, on the encouragement they 
had from the first Order of Council, have sold their Posses- 
sions in Pennsylvania, some being arrived, and others on 
their way to this Province, I have therefore thought fit, by 
and with the advice and consent of his Majesty's Hon. 
Council, to issue this, my Proclamation, to give Notice, 
that I have (with the advice and consent aforesaid) refused 
the said last order of Council of the 21st of January last, 
and confirmed the said first order of the 13th of August ; 
and have ordered that the Lines be run parallel, as near as 
may be, with the course of Great Pedee River ; and further 
to give Notice, that the Surveyor-General is ordered and 
directed to instruct his Deputies not to survey, (for any other 
Persons than the said Welch people) any more of the said 
Lands above Pedee Township, lying within eight miles on 
each side of the said River, and so up to the Branches afore- 
said. Given under my hand and the Great Seal of this 
his Majesty's Province, this 8th day of February, in the 
10th year of his Majesty's reign, Annoque Domini, 1737."'^ 

This extension of the Welch Tract up the Pedee to the 



* Gazette, Feb, 5-12, 1737. 



50 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

two main brandies thereof^ gave the infant Colony exclusive 
privileges over a large territory^ embracing for more than 
one hundred miles by the course of the river^ its rich 
alluvial bottom^ and a valuable class of lands in proximity 
to the swamp. The two main branches referred to, must 
have been the Yadkin and Uwhare, or Yadkin and Uocky 
Rivers — most probably the latter ; in either case, a point 
(their junction) something considerably abovethepresent boun- 
dary line between South and North Carolina, — the Rocky and 
Yadkin Rivers uniting twenty- five miles above the said 
State lines, and the Yadkin and Uwhare not less than fifty. 
With such inducements to emigrate to the Pedee, the Welch 
were not slow in making their way to the Province. The 
first visit of exploration by a few of their number was 
made not later than the spring of 1736. They appear, 
however, to have been preceded by some other settlers. The 
first name of which any record has been found, was Joseph 
Dopson. He was a. grantee of 130 acres of land, in what 
was afterwards the Welch Tract, as early as lltli May, 
1733. 

This fact appears in a petition to Council by Jacob Kolb, 
in 1753, for the said land, the Petitioner stating ' therein 
that the said grant was still in the Surveyor-GeneraFs 
Office. The name of Dopson seems to have disappeared not 
long after from the country. He may have been a squatter, 
or merely in search of land, not making any permanent 
settlement. The earliest grants on the west side of the 
river, in the upper part of what is now Darlington District, 
go back to the year 1734."^ Of the names of the Grantees 
no record perhaps remains. Lands were surveyed for 
Richard Barrow in what was called, soon after, the Welch 
Neck, as early as January 1736. f Nothing is known of 
him, the name ha\'ing soon after disappeared from this 
region. This was the case with many others of the first 
comers. They probably belonged to that class of people 
who live on the outskirts of civilization, leading the way as 



* On tbe authority of the late Hon. Josiah J. Evans, in a letter to the Author. 
Judge Evans was proverbially accurate in his recollection of such matters, 
f Of this fact the original evidence is in the Author's possession. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 51 

hunters, and keeping in the van of permanent settlers. 
They are not unfrequently men of enterprise, but with a 
roving disposition, and distaste for those wholesome restraints 
which society imposes on its members. Exploring the way 
that others may follow, they have often rendered essential 
service in the settlement of new regions, without being 
generally appreciated, however, or taking any place, as they 
have deserved, in the history of man. Thus it was with 
many, whose names appeared in the first record, only to be 
known for a short time afterward.* 

In 1736, or early in the following year, a company of the 
Welch settled on Cat Fish, a stream in what is now Marion 
District, in the tract first assigned them. Among these were 
Jenkin and Owen David. t They remained there a short time, 
and then removed higher up the river to the neighbourhood of 
the Welch Neck. As appears from the petition which led to 
the extension of the Welch Tract much above its original 
boundary, the lands on the upper Pedee seem to have suited 
their agricultural purposes better, being well adapted also to 
settlements immediately contiguous to the river. To that 
rich and compact body of land, embraced in a bend of the 
river, opposite the present village of Society Hill/ and called, 
from an early period, the " Welch Neck,''^ the attention of 
these prudent settlers appears from the first to have been 
directed. And there they began to gather in a body. 
The " Welch Neck^^ extended from Crooked Creek above 
(on its outer line), to the " Red Bluff''' below, a distance of 
about six miles, embracing the rich lands of the swamp, 
several miles across. During the Revolution, or about a 



* In the letter of Judge Evans, already referred to, and written March 29, 
1858, but a short time before his death, he remarks in confirmation of tlie fact 
stated above, " that of the 8 to 10 grants of which his plantations on Crooked 
Creek, Marlborough District, was made np, the name of not a single 
one of the original grantees was known, at a period long antecedent, in tiie 
country." 

■\ Jenkin David died before the Revolution. He had three sons — Joshua, 
Josiah, and Benjamin. Of these, Joslma lived to take an active pai-t in the 
Revolution. He died in 1822, and was the father of the late Captain Joshua 
David, of Marlborough. 

Owen David had four sons — John, Azariah, Owen, and Jenkin. Of these, 
John was the only son who remained on the Pcdee, the otliers having left the 
country at an early period. From these two progenitors the extensive and re- 
spectable connexion of the name in Marlborough has descended. 

E 2 



52 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

generation after the first settlement, the " Company which 
mustered at the M'C-dW ohl fiehl/' numbered from 130 to 
140, all of them said to he Weleh. Between the years 1736 
and 1746, almost all the lands in the Welch Neck were 
granted.* By the latter part of 1737 most of the families 
from Pennsylvania had arrived, and the infant Colony began 
to assume an organized and permanent character. Under 
its leader, James James, Esq.,t were laid the foundations of 
future growth and prosperity. Mr. James was possessed of 
larger means than any of his companions, and the most pro- 
minent individual among them. 

At this time a respectable portion of the Colony consisted 
of the following persons, viz., James James and wife, Philip 
JamcsJ and wife, Daniel Devonald and wifl", Abel James 
and wife, Daniel James and wife, Thomas Evans and wife, 
John Jones and wife, Thomas Harry and wife, Daniel Harry 
and wife, John Harry and wife, Samuel Wild and wife,§ 
Samuel Evans || and wife, Griffith Jones and Avife, David 
Jones and wife, Thomas Jones and wife. 

There were also others whose names appear at the same 
period, viz., Thomas James, Griffith John, "William James, 



* Oil the authority of Judge Evans's letter. 

t Mr. James owned the hinds on both sides of tlie river, at what is now 
known as Spark's Ferry. Tlie first public Ferry in this region was established 
hero in I7ti8. He died at Cat Fish, Nov. 21, 1769, where he had probably 
gone on a visit. 

J Philip .James was a son of James James, Esq., and the first Pastor of the 
Welch Neck Church. Ho was born near Pennepec, in Pennsylvania in 1701. 
He removed to Carolina, in 1735, and was onlaimd at the Welch Neck, 
April -1, 17-13, His death took place in 1753. " In the latter part of his life," 
said a subsequent writer, " his mind was full of heavenly joys, and attentive 
only to spiritual concerns." — A\'ood Furmau's " History of the Charleston Asso- 
ciation," p. 70. 

§ M'ild was a name ever atYer to be proiuinently connected with the history 
of the Pedee. The first settler appears to have had two sons, John and Abel. 
Abel was known afterwards and before the Revolution as Old Colonel Wild. His 
residence was on the cast bank of the river, nearly opposite the Long Bluff. 
His widow was a lady noted in her day for excellence and strength of chai-acter. 
Colonel Wild had four sons — John, Samuel, .lesse, and George. John Wild, the 
other brother, was the father of .lohn and Samuel. The latter of these beciune 
distinguisheil as J udge AN'ild, and was a man of very remarkable character. His 
brother John, who died jirematurely, is said to have been even more talented. 

II Evans, like Wild, was a name destined to become distinguished. From these 
first settlers, Thomas and Samuel, sprang the large and highly respectable con- 
nexion on the Pedee. The late Judge Evans was a descendant — being a great- 
grandson of Thomas Evans. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 53 

John Newberry, Evan Harry, Henry Oldacre, Hasker New- 
berry,* William Eynon, James Roger, David James, Daniel 
Dousnal, Samuel Sarance (Sorrency and Dc Sorrency as it 
was sometimes written), Evan Yaughn, William Tarellf 
(Terrell.) 

The first-mentioned company J were, in January, 1738, 
" organized into a society of the Baptist faith,^^ and erected 
a house of worship on the east bank of the river, a short 
distance above the ferry. § 

There they long continued to worship God after the 
manner of their fathers, and in that consecrated spot, w^here 
some monumental remains are yet to be seen, their dead 
repose, awaiting the last summons. This party, with others, 
appear to have moved in a body from the Welch Tract in 
Pennsylvania and Delaw^are to the Pedee during the pre- 
vious year, if not a little earlier. Many sore lets and hin- 
drances awaited the progress of their settlements. 

Of one of these grievances complaint was made to Go- 
vernment, as appears from the following message, sent by 
the Upper House, or Council, January 26th, 1737, to the 
Commons House of Assembly : — 

" Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen, — Some of the Welch 
Settlers on Pedee have lately complained to me that they have 
sufficient reason to believe that the Indians will molest and 
disturb them in settling the Lands run out for the Welch, 
intimating that one Thompson, a trader, has bought a great 
quantity of that Tract, and pretends to hold it by an Indian 
right, which, as I apprehend this practice may be attended 



* In his " Annals of Newbury District," in attempting to trace the origin of 
the name, Judge O'Neall says : " Certain it is that a family of that name once 
lived beyond Pedee, in that section now called Marlborough District " — p. vii. 
It is not improbable that some member of this family may have removed to that 
part of the State, and hence the name, afterward given to the district. 

t The grandfather of the late Captain John Terrell, of Marlborough, a worthy 
descendant of the old Welch stock, and one of the best men of his day and 
generation. Captain Terrell's father, William Terrell, was engaged in the 
public service before the Revolution, but did not survive that period. 

X This list of names was taken, with other information, from the records of 
the Welch Neck Church, the most of which, however, were unfortunately de- 
stroyed by fire or otherwise many years since. The earlier records now remain- 
ing are very meagre. 

§ Now known as Spark's — on the road leading from Society Hill to 
Bennetsville. 



54 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Avith fatal consequences, I desire you^ appoint a Committee 
of your House, to join a Committee of his Majesty's 
Council, to consider of the most effectual method to prevent 
any private contracts with Indians for the land. 

«Wm. Bull/'* 

A few days after. Committees were appointed to consider 
the subject, and measures were adopted to prevent such diffi- 
culties in the future. 

The tide of immigration had now set in, and constant 
additions were made to the population on the Pedee. " At 
a Coimcilt held at Ashley Ferry, Sep* 16th, 1738, the Hon. 
W^ Bull, President, signed the following grants for land 
in Queensborough ToAYUship, viz. : — 

" Jacob Buckholt . .250 acres. 

Jeremiah Pickling . 450 „ 

Richard Thompson . 400 „ 

Joseph Jolly . . 600 acres.'' 

The Government continued to manifest a due concern for 
fresh accessions to the Welch population. 

In the Council Chamber, 11th May, 1739, it was ordered, 
" That the Term for reserving the Welch Tract upon Pedee 
River for the sole benefit of the Welch and Pennsylvanians, be 
prolonged for the space of two years from the expiration 
thereof, in the month of August next, and all Persons are re- 
quired to take Notice thereof at their Peril. By order of his 
Honour the Lieu* Governor, and his jMajesty's Hon^ Council. 

" Alexr. Cramahe, C.C'J 

This was a liberal policy on the part of Government, and 
an act of great favour to the Welch. 

The spirit of speculation began to show itself as to landed 
estate even at this early period. On the 25th of July, 1739, 
1,000 acres were advertised in Queensborough Township, 
but by whom does not appear. 

The removal of the Welch from Pennsylvania and Dela- 
ware, and the reports made to their countrymen in Wales, 
seem to have excited a spirit of emigration thither from that 



* " Council Journal," No. 7, p. 38. 
t Gazette, Oct. 5, 1738. J Gazette, May 12-19, 1739. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 55 

country. The colonial authorities, having received some 
tidings of this kind, held out additional inducements to them 
to come over. The following announcement was made in 
the Gazette of the 7th and 14th July, 1739 : — " In council, 
the 7th day of July, 1739. There being great reason to 
believe that many poor People of the Principality of Wales 
would remove into this Province, provided they could be 
sure of having the same Bounty (over and above the Land 
allowed by his Majesty) as other poor Protestants have 
heretofore had who have become settlers in his Majesty's 
Townships, — Resolved, that the sum of Six Thousand 
Pounds shall be reserved out of the Township Fund, to be 
appropriated as a Bounty to the first two hundred People 
above twelve years of age (two under twelve years of age to 
be deemed as one) who shall arrive here from the Principality 
of Wales, and become settlers upon the Welch Tract upon 
Pedee, within the Space of Two Years from hence, the said 
Bounty to be proportioned as follows, viz. : — 

" To each Head above twelve years of age, twelve bushels 
of Corn, one Barrel of Beef, Fifty w*. of Pork, one hundred 
w*. of rice, one Bushel of Salt. 

" To each Male above twelve years of age, also, One Axe, 
one Broad Hoe, one Cow and Calf, and one Young Sow. And 
the charge of measuring out and the Fifty acres of Land per 
head allowed by his Majesty. A true copy. 

"Alexander Cramahe, Q.C" 

The inducements here offered are supposed to have en- 
couraged and increased the emigration direct from Wales. 
By the year 1746, as already remarked, almost aU the lands 
in the Welch Neck were granted, having been taken up ex- 
clusively by the Welch. 

The number of settlers had largely increased between 
1740 and 1743. The following list of names and of the 
quantities of land, respectively allotted, with the dates of 
entries, will convey some idea of the progress made down to 
the year 1743. The list did not embrace the names of all 
who had arrived, but only of those who had neglected to 
comply with the requirements of the law respecting the 
Township Settlers, and whose neglect operated to the preju- 



56 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



dice of others who might wish to come in. It is taken from 
the Gazette of August, 1743. 

" A list of Township Plots (on the Bounty) in the Sur- 
veyor-General's Office, August 15th, 1743 : — 

Queensborough Township. 



Thomas James 


650 acres . 


October 


3, 


1738. 


Griffith Jones 


300 


}) 


}} 


4, 


j> 


Griffith John 


100 


3) 


September 


1, 


33 


William James 


400 


}) 


}} 


33 


33 


John Newberry 


350 


}} 


)) 


2, 


33 


Henry Oldacre 


50 


)) 


» 


4, 


33 


Hasker Newberry 


300 


}} 


}} 


5, 


33 


Evan Harry 


100 


)> 


}) 


30, 


33 


William Eynon 


500 


}} 


August 


23, 


33 


James Roger 


50 


)} 


)} 


26, 


33 


David James 


400 


}} 


3i 


27, 


33 


Thomas Evans 


400 


}) ' ' 


}> 


33 


33 


Daniel Dousnal 


200 


}> 


» 


33 


33 


John Jones 


250 


» 


}) 


28, 


33 


Sam\ Sarance 


100 


y} 


)i 


29, 


33 


Richard Barrow 


150 


>} 


}> 


33 


33 


Evan Vaughn 


350 


}} 


1) 


30, 


33 


Abel James 


300 


}) 


)> 


31, 


33 


William Tarell 


200 


}} 


}) 


33 


33 


Thomas Walley 


50 


}) • 


May 


18, 


1740 


Philip James 


250 


}) 


)) 


21, 


33 


Sampson Thomas 


400 


}} 


3) 


23, 


33 


Jacob Buckles 


250 


}) 


3) 


24, 


33 


Peter Kishley 


400 


)} 


June 


2, 


33 


John Evans 


200 


}) 


February 


6, 


33 


John Newberry 


100 


}} 


November 


22, 


1741. 


Wm. Tarell 


100 


}} 


December 


9, 


33 


Thos. Evans 


250 


}> 


3) 


10, 


33 


}) )} 


75 


)} 


33 


14, 


33 


Abel Evans 


100 


}) ' 


33 


11, 


33 


John Evans 


100 


}} 


33 


33 


:3 


Mary Evans 


300 


}) 


33 


13, 


33 


John Jones 


100 


}} • 


33 


1, 


33 


Jeremiah Rowell 


150 


}) • 


3> 


16, 


33 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



57 



Queensborough Township 
James Rowland 150 acres 



Evan Vaughn 


100 


John Westfield 


300 


Thomas Elleby 


250 


Simon Parsons 


TOO 


John Carter 


100 


Wm. Evans 


50 


Job Edwards 


200 


Daniel James 


350 


John Jones 


500 


David Harry 


125 


j> )} 


}) 


Philip James 


100 


Philip Douglas 


300 


William Carey 


300 


Mary Evans 


200 


David Malahan 


150 


Thomas Moses 


220 


William Jones 


400 


Nicholas Rogers 


350 


Thomas Evans 


100 


)i )} 


125 


William James 


200 



-{continued). 


December 


14, 1741 


}} 


17, „ 


» 


}) )) 


}) 


)) jj 


}) 


18, „ 


}) 


22, „ 


» 


23, „ 


)) 


28, „ 


)) 


24, 1742 



23, 



}> 


27, „ 


}} 


29, „ 


}) 


31, „ 


January 


1, 1743 


}i 


4. ., 


)) 


5, }, 


}} 


» >) 


» 


6, „ 


}) 


15, „ 


}} 


28, „ 


>f 


29, „ 



" Upon perusing and considering the Memorial of George 
Hunter, Esq., Surveyor-General, relating to several Plots 
of land returned into and now lying in the Office of the 
said Surveyor-General, and which have remained in the 
said Office for many years, mthout any applications from the 
Persons in whose names the same are run, to have them 
taken out of the said Office, whereby other Persons are pre- 
vented from taking up the said Lands, and becoming Tenants 
to his Majesty for the same: It is Ordered that the said List 
be published in the Gazette, to the intent that the several 
Persons interested in or claiming the same may apply for, 
and take out the said Plots, on or before the 1st day of 
January next; and in case of their neglecting so to do, their 
failure therein will be taken as a Disclaimer of their Rights 
to the said Lands ; and the same Lands may and shall be 



58 HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 

granted to any otlicr persons "who shall duly apply for the 
same. A true copy. 

"Alexander Gordon, C.C.'^ 

The neglect of most or all of those mentioned in the 
foregoing list to take out their plots^ &c., may doubtless he 
owing to the fact that they Avcre too poor to do so, or that 
the lands first granted were in the lower part of the Welch 
Tract, and taken out before its extension ; and having de- 
termined to go liiglicr up the river, some of them may have 
abandoned their claims below, where their places were soon 
taken by others. 

In common with other settlers, the Welch had many dif- 
ficulties to contend against. The means of most of them 
were, no doubt, exhausted by the expense of the removal to 
Pedee. After their arrival, the distance from Charles-town, 
the seat of Government, where all public business had to be 
transacted, perplexed them no little. The following extracts 
from the Council Journals will show the mode of proceeding 
with reference to land, and the sore extremities to which 
these poor settlers were often driven. 

" In Council Chamber, Jan. 2G, 1742-43. Read the 
Petition of part of the Inhabitants of the Welch Tract, as 
also the Petition of Sam^ Sorrency, as follows, viz. : To 
the Hon. Wm. Bull, Lieu^-Gov"" and Commander-in-Chief 
of his Majesty's Pi'ovince of S. C, and to the rest of the 
Hon^ Members of his Mjijesty's Council. 

" The Petition of Samuel Sorrency Humbly shewetli. 
That your Petitioner at his first arrival in this Province 
obtained a Warrant for 100 acres of land, to be laid out in 
the Welch Tract, whereon I now live, — That your Peti- 
tioner hath since two children come from Pennsylvania to 
this place, which I have made oath of before Wm. James, 
Esq., who informs me that it Avill not do without my proving 
my right in the Council Chamber ; but as I am but low in 
the world, and live at so great a distance from Charles-town, 
and not having a horse to ride nor money to bear my ex- 
penses, and the Bearer, Thomas Boweu, can prove, if need 
be, that I have such children — Your Petitioner therefore 
humbly prays your Honours to take my case into considera- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 59 

tlon, and grant me a warrant for 100 acres of his Majesty's 
land, to be laid out in the "Welch Tract, and your Petitioner, 
as in duty bound, &c. 

" The above and Samuel James swore to his family right 
before Wm. James, Esq., one of his Majesty's Justices 
assigned to keep the Peace in Craven County aforesaid. 
The Prayer of said Petition was granted, and it was ordered, 
that Mr. Secretary Hammerton do prepare a warrant ac- 
cordingly. 

" Read also the Petition of Daniel M'Daniel, for a war- 
rant of 100 acres, for himself and wife, to be laid out in the 
Welch Tract, which was granted 

" Read also the Petition of several other Inhabitants of 
the Welch Tract, as follows : — 

" The Petition of part of the Inhabitants of the Welch 
Tract humbly sheweth : That we have left Pennsylvania and 
have transported ourselves to this Province by the encou- 
ragement given to settle this aforesaid Tract of land ; but as 
some of us had our lands run out, and the Plots put into 
the Surveyor-GcneraFs office 4 years ago, and as we are 
so poor that we cannot get money to pay the charge of sur- 
veying and granting it, has discouraged many from coming 
over; and we are afraid the discouragement being so great, 
we not being sure of our grants, by reason of our poverty, 
that some that have come over will return from us again. 
So we, your Humble Petitioners, hope your Hon"* and Hon'^ 
will take it into your serious consideration, what satisfaction 
it is to every man to have his titles to land secure, and will 
fulfill the encouragement given us that we should have our 
lands granted us free from all charge of surveying and grant- 
ing; and, as we are in duty bound, we shall ever pray, &c. 
"Philip James Abel James Peter Roblyn 

Jeremiah Rowell Tho'* Evans Creen Vaughn 

Philip Douglass John Evans Nicholas Rogers 

Daniel Devonald John Evans Simon Parson 

David Harry John Carter David Lewis 

Tho' Evans W"* Kirby Sam^ Sorrency 

Tho^ Moses Griffith John W" Terrell 

Mary Evans Dan^ Houehorn John Jones 

Jobe Edwards Walter Downe Abel Evans 
Nathan' Evans David James W"* James. 






H-^. 



>».lklVAk 


-*i:' 


^ V 


>s 




^ 




»4 




'fr 



'A 






>.i.»*j;>«!«*C 



t^t*rf wrtJft t^ic/se #>♦'/ ftiWrt* \iK^0t t^^^-m^ 0rtm *!aywryi*^ tm 

I. /^, %«A nx\^\\\\u% %/* «-. 

•If*#»jl(/rf« t// ('//HiP, Mtitrti% t$imn. (Jf th^, fif^, elaww ftwnri- 
i^fmt'A, ^m fruft/^ y-- ■ - 'r(\^, fA tla*', f.ftfiU-?^ w:ttk^n 
withKt tit*; UmftA tA ' yffi\<m <A tf»^ Wftk^f^ 'tityc-x 

tA ^ymt iM\tf r*'///r4 rt^nntnn. He i* ivn^i^A t/> h*v* 
^Kiu's^thU'A frt/tn iff'Jptfifi. ht t)te (U/nrua\ Jf/nrnni, *^h >»•'/- 

1 Ti4) HiiirfM fA la#»/l »r» t);**; VffX^h 'ttftt-t tyn t>»« vmth «kte of 
t.h^r rirftr, Umti/Wtif^ ffci,wf-' - '-^ - T)w>'maiir'« Jir^e aRF»d <>»« 
Vfinf(int\ I»ri/I ; a/t/I tlift i' • *t tfi^ f»aww5 tJKKW; prO' 

<lfi/^!/l * f'^KfiWu-'/tU', fA hm h'A,^\n% IhfA therfi h*Af/tt the 
%*i^xUvUit';Ttt fA iUt', Vff\f}tt nu^ut-A hy twf/ ixt>(tu-j^ fA the^ 
f^?ft/^, in thstt plft/'j',. Up, 'd,y\)f,MfA in \yfif^m, »fA J«« peti^ 
i'um v>'f%H ft/fidUA/' 

Afifdit4;r MMlf^r, a-fy/nt ihf, %'a,ni(', t\uit;, t}t^, f»r»t of a name 
whl/;h ha* n'tttfA', \>P4',rt wfM kfxmtt fm tfw^ VcAcj;, was Jamfs* 
('mU-^nj. Ut; infu\f, A HuuWfir ftypVu^Htum , I'/nt wa« not »^> 
ifftiuuhU',, (fff A t'tmc, fit ]('.ftAt, M tf} the rcAvH. 

On tht; numt', flay, j^fch N</vfnrn^j*nr, 1743, ''was rea/l the 
fV.t»ii//fi fA ShUif'A (/fiU'Apy, shewing that thf; Petitioner, 
\t{ivitti( *'tx ^tt'T'^mn in thmWf, ftrr whom, a« yet, he has not 
l»a/l any \huf\% mn\yiu(A him, hnmhiy prays that a warrant 
</f nurvtry ftn" ?/)() fuirfA hf, f/rmttUA hirn in the Welch Tract, 
fifjt, not ap|)/',arinj( t/; swear t/» his family right, his pfrtition 
was orrlere^l t/» lie orri the tahle/^ 



f/Fllc»wifi(< trtMrt rif pr')^,^ f»f(p^f»rwl in thft fJa)^,i^it of t\^ day, 

(Ihiirli'^hriiy/i., Nwnmh*^ \, MVa, (JhfvrUnUmn, >Jn,J/y 16, 1741. 

f!i/A /t2*. t/» Va». j.*r ftvvt. fMcft 3/. p^r cwfc,; Skim, 16». 6«?.per IK 

V^M^, \tu.; 'rricpf-rit.infi, 2f>#, FiU-h, ,'5*. pCT baTTftl. 

Tdf, 'Mill, i KVirm, IM*. f/» \<Ai>. Tar, 4r>*. ; Indian corn, 30«, per bodieL 

In/linf» <w»rri, 1». Cid. t/> J(>*, per hnnhel. Turpfsntin*;, 22?. M-. 

IndkiB peas, 30«. per bushel. 



62 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

At tlie same time^ Henry Roach made a similar application 
for 100 acres of land in tlie Welch Tract; but not appearing to 
be a Welchman, or of Welch extract^ the consideration of his 
case was postponed. James Galespy came from the North 
of Ireland. He was a man of energy and enterprise. In 
connexion with General Christopher Gadsden, of Charles- 
town, he was engaged in boating on the Pedee many years 
before the Revolution, and is believed to have been the first 
person who ever brought a boat to Cheraw. The difficulty 
with the Welch doubtless led to his removal higher up the 
river, to the neighbourhood of the present town of Cheraw. 
He settled on the west side of the river, a short distance 
below the town, and entered on a successful career as a 
trader. He married a daughter of Francis Young. James 
Galespy died before the Revolution. He left two sons to 
inherit his name,'^ and two daughters. 

The Welch did not extend their settlements much, if any, 
above the mouth of Crooked Creels^ or the upper limits of 
the Welch Neck. Of those who were induced to enter 
upon the Welch Tract was Thomas Elerby, the first of that 
name who emigrated to the Pedee. He came soon after 
the first of the Welch, as appears from the following record 
of Council :t—" July 5th, 1742. Read the Petition of 
Thomas Elerby, setting forth that he and his family, con- 
sisting of eleven persons, came from Virginia about five 
years past, and settled and cleared land near Pedee river, . 
and obtained a warrant for his family right ; but happened 
to be within the limits of the Welch Tract, and at a conve- 
nient place to fix a water-mill. When the Welch inhabi- 

* The name was soon after changed to its present spelling, Gillespie. The 
sons of James Galespy were Francis and James. The former died before the 
Revolution. James was born in 1754, and was therefore of age when that 
stormy period commenced. He took an active part on the Pedee throughout 
the struggle, and was prominently connected with St. David's Parish. He 
settled on the east side of the river, on lands now owned by his son. General 
James Gillespie, of Marlborough. He married a Miss Wild, aunt of the late 
Judge Samuel Wild, of Darlington. The fruits of this marriage were Francis, 
Samuel, and James, and two daughters — Sarah and Mary. 

James Galespy, senior, had also two daughters. Of these, one married John 
Westfield, one of the early emigrants from Virginia to Pedee. He lived on the 
west side of the river above Cheraw. John \^'estfield, with his wife, subsequently 
returned to Virgiaiia and died there. Westfield Creek, in Chesterfield District, 
took its name from him. Obedience, the other daughter, married Thomas 
Elerby, from whom a numerous progeny sprung. 

f " Council Journal," No. 8, p. 97. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 63 

tants came to settle, above four years past, one Daniel 
James persuaded the Petitioner to remove peaceably from 
that place by the run of water, and gave the Petitioner and 
his family liberty to settle and cultivate any other vacant 
land which he should find within the limits of the "Welch 
Tract ; and did also himself get a special warrant for 250 
acres of land, which is run out for the Petitioner and 
returned : whereupon he begs for a grant for the same, 
ha\dng lived ever since thereon, and now wants more land 
in the same, or adjoining thereto, to cultivate and settle, his 
family being increased to 20 and 2 persons, he having six 
persons lately purchased or born, for which, as yet, he has 
had no warrant. He therefore prays for a warrant of 
survey for laying out 300 acres of vacant land, and a special 
warrant of survey for running out 550 acres of vacant land 
more, within the limits of the said Welch Ti'act, in the lieu 
of his common warrant. Resolved : that the consideration 
of the said Petition be deferred until the Petitioner appear 
personally before the Board.'''' Mr. Elerby was doubtless 
successful in the end, as he remained in that neighborhood 
and became the owner of extensive landed possessions, a 
large portion of which has remained in the family to the 
present day.^ John Elerby, a brother of Thomas, came 
Avith him to Pedee, and settled on the east side of the river. 
He either returned to Virginia or removed elsewhere at an 
early period. Thomas Elerby brought a good property with 
him, and was probably the first slaveholder on the Upper 
Pedee. Some years prior to the Revolution he had a large 
number — at least for that day. This family emigrated from 
England to Virginia. 

The name is still known in England, and is spelt as it 
appears in our early records. 

Not long afterwards, however, as was often the case, it 
was changed to its present form, Ellerbe.f Thomas Elerby, 



* The mill site referred to in the petition of Thos. Elerby, was doubtless that 
on Juniper Creek, of which some signs yet remain near the road leading from 
Cheraw to Society Hill. 

A grist and saw mill, at all events, were there, and in successful operation 
some time before the Revolution. 

•f This change, it is said, took place soon after Thos. Elerby's death, while 
his two sons were yet young, and was made by their teacher, the name not 
having yet become familiar. 



64 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

who married, as already stated, Obedience Gillespie, had two 
sons, Thomas and William, from whom the extensive family 
connexion on the Pedee have descended.* Of the Evans,* 
who were among the Welch settlers, a branch of the family 
went first, or soon after their arrival removed, to what is 
now Marion District. From Thomas and Samuel Evans, 
who were members of the Welch colony, the extensive con- 
nexion in Darlington and Chesterfield Districts descended. 

With the main body of the Welch, or soon after came 
John Brown. He was born near Burlington, New Jersey, 
and brought up at Frankfort, in the neighbourhood of Phila- 
delphia. Mr. Brown was ordained May 7th, 1750, and 
succeeded the Rev. Philip James in the charge of the Welch 
Neck Church, but did not continue long in that position. 
After this he continued to preach the gospel in different 
places until his death. 

It is supposed that he was its founder, and gave name 
to the old Brownsville community, twenty miles lower 
down on the east side of the river. 

About the years 1738-39, Robert Williams, then a young 
man, emigrated to Pedee. He was born at Northampton, 
North Carolina, in 1717. Mr. Williams settled on the 
west side of the river, opposite the lower part of the Welch 
Neck, and became, eventually, the owner of a large landed 



* The widow of Thomas Elerby married Charles Bedingfield (called Benny- 
field by the old people), a man of some note, but of unprincipled character. 
While his stepsons, William and Thomas Ellerbe, were yet young, he ran off 
with all the moveable property to Georgia, the West of that period, leaving them 
only the landed estate of their fother with which to make their way in the 
world. This was before the Revolution, and the name of Bedingfield was not 
known in this region afterwards. 

The children of William Elerby were — Esther, who married Erasmus Powe ; 
William F., who married Miss Ann Robinson (this lady subsequently married 
Clement Prince) ; Elizabeth, who married Joseph Ellerbe ; Martha E., who 
married Tliomas Powe ; Zachariah, who married Obedience Ellerbe ; and Thomas 
F., who married Rebecca Ellerbe. 

The children of Thomas Ellerbe were — William E., who married a Miss 
Crawford ; James, who also married a Miss Crawford ; Thomas, who married 
Miss Leslie Prince ; Jane, who married George Strother ; Joseph, who married 
EUzabeth Ellerbe ; Mary, who married Alexander McQueen ; Rebecca, who 
married John M'Farland ; and John Ellerbe, who married Martha Powe, and 
afterwards Mary, her sister. Of these large families there is now not one 
survivor. 

William and Thomas Ellerbe were prominently connected with St. David's 
Parish, aud worthy Whigs in the Revolution. 



HISTORY or THE OLD CHEllAWS. 65 

estate in this neighbourliood, most of which has remained 
in the family since. 

In 1752, he was ordained at the Welch Neck, and be- 
came the pastor of that Church, retaining the position, 
however, but a short time afterwards. Robert Williams 
had two children — a daughter, who married Arthur Hart, 
and afterwards, Moses Murfec ; and a son, David Wil- 
liams. The latter was born on Pedee, February 1st, 1739, 
received his education in Charles-town, and after a brief but 
amiable and useful career, died January 1st, 1776.* He 
married a sister of Arthur Hart, and the fruits of this 
marriage were two children — a daughter, Mary Ann,t and 
a son, David Rogerson, who subsequently became distin- 
guished as a member of Congress from the Pedee district, 
and Governor of South Carolina. 

Robert Williams died April 8th, 1788, and had the fol- 
lowing character given him : '' He was kind to the poor, 
and remarkably so to the afflicted ; a man of excellent 
natural parts, and a minister Avho preached the gospel to 
the edification and comfort of souls.^'J 

Another name which appears among the grantees of 
land in the Welch Neck, in 1743, was Nicholas Rogers. 
He was one of the Welch settlers, and died in 1759. He 
left a son, Benjamin,§ the father of the late Colonel Ben- 
jamin Rogers, of Marlborough. 

* The Rev. Evan Pugli officiated on the occasion of David Williams' funeral, 
preaching fi-ora John xi. 11, 12. 

t Mary Ann, daughter of David Williams, was born April 16th, 1772, and 
married John M'lver. The fruits of this marriage were four sons — John E., 
Alexander, David Rogerson Williams, and Thomas ; and one daughter, Eliza, 
who married John Davis. Mrs. M'lver died November 18th, 1834, having 
long survived her husband. 

David Rogerson was born March 8th, 1776 ; and married, first, a Miss Powers, 
of Providence, Rhode Island, by whom he had one child, the late Col. John 
N. Williams, of Society Hill, a man of uncommon purity and excellence of 
character. His second wife was Elizabeth Witherspoon, who survived him 
many years. She was a lady of remarkable traits, and universally beloved. 

General Williams, as he was afterwards known, was possessed of superior 
talents and extraordinary energy of character. After an active and useful life, 
both as a private citizen and public man, he came to his end November l7th, 
1830, by the falling in of a bridge which he had had erected over Lynche's 
Creek, on the George- town road. 

X From a funeral discourse by Mr. Pugh, who performed the last rites for 
the father as he had done for the son. 

§ Benjanun Rogers lived on tlie hill below Juniper, on what has since been 

F 



06 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Allusion has l)ron made to the course pursued by the 
AVelchj M'ith refercnee to others coming in among them. 
The feeling was a natural one, and under the cireumstanees, 
in such a chaotic state of society, when people of different 
nations^ and many of them doubtless of bad character, 
were flocking in as squatters and traders, not to be con- 
demned. The subsequent history of their colony, strongly 
and jiccnliarly nuirkcd as it Mas in all the elements of 
substantial growth ami virtuous progress, will be found to 
have fully justified their exclusive policy. They planted 
themselves, in most instances, immediately on the river, 
and made locations of lauds in small parcels. 

The country being in a Avilderness state, their position 
isolated, and their means limited, they selected such quan- 
tities of land as suited their present necessities, influenced 
also, to some extent, by the consideration of compactness, 
which gratified their social propensities, and enabled them 
besides to concentrate against the sudden incursions of the 
Indians, by whom they were surrounded. Here, on a virgin 
soil, they peacefully pursued their agricultural employ- 
ments, being richly rewarded for the common toils and 
hardships endured. 

In their new and yet wilderness home, drawn together 
more closely than by the common ties of friendship and of 
blood, surrounded by common dangers, against which they 
vig-ilantlv guarded, with common wants and necessities suf- 
fieiently supplied, and meeting weekly around one conse- 
crated altar to worship the God of their fathers, a more 
perfect unity, or virtuous and manly life can scarcely be 
conceived. 

Such was the scene presented by this infant band of 
brothers in the early days of their history ; with no court 



tlio main mad loaiUnp from Choraw to Loiii^ Hluff. He was a man of much 
excellence, and hii.hly esteemed — an ardent Whiir, l)ut too old to take an 
active part in the Revolution. His name appears among the early records of 
St. David's parish. His son, the late Colonel Benjamin Rogers of Marlborough, 
was yet a mere youth in the Revolution ; but yielding to the impulses of his 
nature, and contrary to the more prudent counsels of his father, drew his 
sword on more than one occasion in the cause of liberty. 

The sons of Col. Kogei-s arc among the worthy aud most respectable citizens 
of Marlborousrh and Darlington districts. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 67 

of justice in their midst to which conflicting claims and 
angry disputes might be referred, and no frowning gaol for 
the reception of the criminal. Nor were they needed. 
Few contentions, probably, were known, and the voice of 
society, though newly formed in this southern home, was 
potent enough to silence the voice of the blasphemer and 
make the evil-minded man pause in his ways. 

Simplicity of character appears to have been one of the 
most marked traits of this people — a virtue which has been 
transmitted, through succeeding times, to their descendants. 
They were open and sincere, making no profession of feel- 
ing which did not exist. 

For sobriety and moderation, also, with what was more 
essential as the foundation of all virtue, a deep religious 
feeling, they were distinguished. These virtues were strongly 
impressed upon the community they established, presenting 
in subsequent times a striking contrast to some other 
neighbourhoods on the Pedee, where dissipation and irre- 
ligion so much prevailed. The Welch brought with them 
to a new country those marked features for which their 
ancestors had been noted long before. The Welch are 
said to have been more jealous of their liberties than even 
the English, and far more irascible, though their jealousy 
soon abated. They were, from an early period, fond of car- 
rying back their pedigrees to the most remote antiquity, 
and some of their manuscripts they make to be coeval with 
the Incarnation.^ 

But few relicsf remain among the descendants of the 
early Welch settlers on the Pedee. 

Intermingled, as they subsequently became with other 
races, their national peculiarities, except in a few instances 
of striking constitutional descent, gradually disappeared. 

And of their names, as connected with the localities they 
inhabited, but a memorial is here and there left to tell of 
the first cultivators of the soil. 



* Guthrie, p. 39. 
•|- There is now, in the possession of a family descended from the Welch, and 
living in the neighbourhood of their first settlement, a Welch Bible, of the 
edition of 1676, which is supposed to have belonged to tlie leader of the colony, 
as it contains a record of the births, marriages, and deaths of the James 
family. 

F 2 



()8 HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIEKAWS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Scttlcinciils lower down on the river — One of the first comers — His family — 
History of the colony in l^ritton's Neck — The families composing- it — Their 
history — The churcli huihling — Its subsequent history — The settlement at 
Sftiuly Bluff — The locality — Their church buililing — Accounts of the mem- 
bers of this connnunity and their descendants — Incidents connected with 
dill'erent individuals — Irish Protestants — Who they were — Irish-town — 
Its locality — Other settlers in this region — Their history — Close of this 
period. 

About tlic time of the Welch emigration to Pedee^ settle- 
ments were made lower down the river in what was after- 
ward Liberty Precinct, now jNIarion District. John God- 
bold was among the first who came to this region. 

He was an Englishman, and had been long a sailor in the 
l^ritish service. Thongh advanced in years at the time of 
his arrival, snch was his enterprising energy, that he suc- 
ceeded in accumulating what, for that day, was a large 
property. 

He settled in 1735 about a half mile below the site of 
the present village of !Marion, being the lirst adventurer to 
that immediate locality. 

The most profitable business at that time was stock 
raising, Chai'les-town^ aflbrding a good mai'ket for all the 
industrious settlers could carry thither. Diiring the French 
and Indian wars, ^Mr. CJodbold was plundered of almost all 
the personal property he had gathered. Of thirty negroes, 
twenty-two were taken from him and never recovered. A 
trunk of guineas, the fruits of many years' labour, was 
rifled. 

He married, after his arrival on Pedee, Elizabeth M'Gur- 
ney, by whom he had three sous — John, James, and Thomas ; 
and two daughters — Elizabeth and Anne ; from whom the 
extensive connexion in Marion have descended. t 



* ^lany of the early settlei-s drove their stock as far as Philadelphia, 
•j- Of his sons, John, the eldest, married Priscilla Jones, and had three sons 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEllAWS. G9 

John Godbold was a member of the Church of England, 
and died in 17G5, at the advanced age of more than one 
hundred years, in the faith of his fathers. About the time 
John Godbold came to Pedec, two important settlements 
were made in that region. One of these was in Britton's 
Neck, twenty miles below Mars Bluff,* and forty miles above 
George-town. 

It was composed of the families of Britton, Graves, 
Fladger, Davis, Tyler, Giles, and others. They came 
directly from England, as one colony ; and being members 
of the Established Church, one of their first acts was to 
erect a housef for the worship of God. Their minister, 
Dr. Robert Hunter, came with them, and is supposed to 
have died there. He was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. 
Allison. 



— Z ichariiib, .John, and Jesse. Of these, ZiichariaVi was a captain in the Revo- 
lution. 

James, the second son, married Mourning Elizabeth Baker, by whom he had 
six sons — lobn, James, Zacbariah, Cade, Abram, and Thom-is. Of these, John 
and Zacbariab were lieutenants in the Revolution. Tbom-.is, the youngest son, 
was the father of the late Hugh Godbold,* of Marion. 

Thomas, the third son, married Martha Herron, and had four sons — Stephen, 
David, Thomas, and Ely. Of these, Thomas was the father of Asa Godbold, of 
Marion, and Ely, who left a son bearing his name. 

* Mars Bluli" took its name from an early settler, Maers (pronounced Mars). 
He left at an early period, and the name, except as marked by that locality, 
disappeared with him. 

t This building was of black cypress, with a brick foundation, and is still to 
be seen, or was a few years since, in a good state of preservation, on the road 
leading from Port's Ferry to Potatoe Ferry, on Little Pedee. About the year 
1780, the congregation having been long without a minister, and doubtless very 
much broken up by the troublous times of the Revolution, united with the 
Methodists, and the building passed into the hands of the latter, by whom it 
has since been retained. Charles Wesley is said to have once preached in it. 

* To this gentleman, the late Hugh Godbold, the author was indebted for a 
large and valuable fund of information as to the early settlements on the Pedee 
and their subsequent history. To a memory of extraordinary tenacity (in 
genealogical details unequt\lled by any with which the author has ever met) was 
added a remarkable precision, and tender regard for truth, which gave his 
statements high authority, and made him always a witness of importance in 
(»urts of justice. He had, from early life, great fondness for everything con- 
nected with the local history of the region of his nativity, and having bad inter- 
course with many of the old people of the second generation of those who first 
came to the Pedee, be collected a large fund of interesting matter, none of 
which seems ever to have escaped him. A man of general intelligencu and 
sterling traits of character, his real worth was appreciated by few of his con- 
temporaries. He died in 1859. Peace to his ashes. 



70 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

The name of one of these families subsequently became 
distinguished in the person of Colonel Hugh Giles^ who took a 
prominent part in this region during the Revolution. He 
was the son of Robert Giles. The other settlement referred 
to was made at a point on the east bank of the river^ called 
Sandy Bluff, '^ two and a half miles above Mars BluflP. A 
few traces of it are yet to be seen at several points, imme- 
diately on the high bank of the river. The families of 
Crawford, Saunders, Murfee, Crosby, Keighly, Berry, and 
shortly after the Gibson^s, made up this community. Sandy 
Bluff extended up the river about three miles. With the 
fertile uplands running out for some distance, and a rich 
swamp on the opposite side, and supplied, too, with nume- 
rous springs of good water, this locality was in many 
respects admirably adapted to the wants of the infant 
colony. 

The chief drawback was its growing unhealthfulness, until 
the long process was passed through, of clearing the lands and 
draining the contiguous bottoms. These settlers built their 
houses, as did the Welch above, immediately on the river, 
and in close proximity to each other, for the convenience of 
water, of social intercourse, and their mutual protection 
against the Indian. It was also more healthy than loca- 
tions further out from the river, as experience has proved. 

They were from England and Ireland, and having landed 
at Charles-town, found their way to George-town, and thence 
up the river, attracted by the bounties which the Govern- 
ment had offered. Like their neighbours in Britton's Neck, 
they erected a building for public worship, according to 
the rites of the Established Church. Faint traces of this 
early structure were to be seen a few years since. The 
bricks used for the foundation were brought up the river in 
boats (the settlers thus transporting themselves and their 
stores), and were of a most superior quality. 

The Rev. Wm. Turbeville came with this colony, and 
was their pastor. He was a well-educated man, and had a 
high reputation as a preacher. 



* The Wilmington and Manchester R. R. crosses immediately below this 
point. 



HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 71 

Eminent also for piety and devotion to his work^ lie 
retained the confidence and affection of the people in an ex- 
tensive region of the country, to the close of a long life. 
One of the incidents related in connexion with him, is sin- 
gularly illustrative of this feeling. Such was the general 
conGdence in his piety and the efficacy of his prayers, that 
he was sent for from considerable distances, during the 
pressure of any general calamity, to make intercession to 
God in behalf of the people. On one occasion, about the 
year 1760, during the prevalence of a fearful drought, there 
was a general meeting at Basses INIills to pray for rain. Mr. 
Turbeville was sent for. He answered the summons, and 
as tradition relates, before the sufferers had reached their 
homes, the heavens were opened and copious rains came 
down. Mr. Turbeville had no children. Several brothers 
came with him, of whom some descendants are now to be 
found in Marion. 

He lived at Sandy Bluff until after the year 1 800, then 
removed to the west side of the river, near Mars Bluff", 
where he married a second time, and died about 1810, at 
the advanced age of one hundred and three years.* 

Of the settlers at Sandy Bluff, the Murfees, Saunders, 
Gibsons, and Crawfords accumulated the largest properties, 
and became most prominent. John Crawford, the first of 
that name, had three sons — James, John, and Hardy. 

James, the eldest of them, amassed a large fortune for 
that day, and maintained through life a high character for 
integrity. He was a captain in the Revolution, and a 
valiant soldier in the cause of liberty, f 

Of the Murfees J there were four brothers, Mosesj Malachi, 
Maurice, and Michael. 



* Mr. Turbeville was a poor man through life. It ia said that Win. 
Allston, grandfather of Gov'. Allston, who lived at that time near the 
Warhees (a few miles below Mars Bluff) complained to Mr. T. on one occasion 
of his wearing such coarse garments. Mr. T. told him, he got but little for 
pi'eaching, and could not afford to dress better. 

Whereupon, Mr. Allston gave him a black siiit and silk gown, on condition 
that he was not to use them except in preaching, and on other public oiRcial 
occasions. 

t He was the grandfather of the late Chapman Crawford, of Marion. 

X Thus the name appears in the lirst records. It was afterwards changed 
to its present spelling, Murphy. 



72 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 

Of these, Malaclii'^ became the wealthiest. He is said to 
have given one hnndred slaves to each of three sons. He 
died before the Revolution. 

Maurice had a son, bearing his name, who was destined 
to occupy a prominent place in the subsequent history of 
the Pedee. 

Some notice of Michael Murfee appears in the records of 
Council: — "At a Meeting, 13th Ap\ 1744, Avas read the 
Petition of Michael Murfee, an Inhabitant of the Welch 
Tract, shewing that about nine years ago, before the settling 
of the Welch, he purchased part of a Warrant of one 
Howard, since dead, for 300 acres of land in the Welch 
Tract ; but the said Warrant for running out the same being 
afterwards lost or mislaid, never was returned into the 
Office ; notwithstanding which, he built a house on the same, 
settled there, and made other considerable improvements, 
and cleared above 400 acres thereof, and is well liked as a 
neighbour by all the Welch Famylies _ there. That the 
Petitioner, having since a considerable increase of fourteen 
persons in his family, for whom he has not as yet obtained 
any land, nor hath he any other land than as above said 
within the said Province, Prays a warrant of survey for 
seven hundred acres in a Tract or Tracts of vacant land, and 
then the said Tract of land whereupon the Petitioner is 



* His sons were James, Malachi, and Moses. James, tlie eldest, died 
young, leaving three daughters, — Hannah, who married Moses Saunders, of 
Darlington ; Catharine, who married Nicholas Bedgegood, and afterwards 
J. B. Billingsby of Marlboro'; and Mary, who married Jordan Saunders. 
Malachi, the second son, married first a Miss Knight, by whom he had two 
sons, — and afterward, Mary Hicks. The fruits of this marriage were — 
Nathanael, Maurice, James, Elizabeth, and Sally. Elizabeth married a Rawls, 
and Sally married Wm. Johnson, of Sneedsboro, No. Ca. Malachi Murphy 
was a captain in tlie Revolution, and was killed at Bass's Mill. 3Ioses, the 
third son, married a daughter of Robei-t Williams. 

Of the daughters of Malachi Murfee, sen., Elizabeth married Wm. Pegnes, 
of Chesterfield ; another married the Rev. Nicholas Bedgegood, one of the 
early pastors of the Welch Neck Church ; and Marcia married Claudius 
Pegn(;s, of Marlborough. 

Malachi Murfee, sen., married the widow of George Saunders. She was a 
sister of Gideon Gibson. 

A female descendant, living a few years since in the neighbourhood of the 
original settlement, was the only representative left in that region, — such ai-c 
the sad changes which time brings with it, causing the name of the most 
extensive liimily connexion, in a few generations, to pass entirely away, leaving 
scarce the memory of their former existence behind them. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 73 

settled as above, or so much thereof as shall appear, upon a 
re-survey, to be vacaut, to be part of the same, which land 
is butting on or near Col. Pawley^s land, and to the west of 
John Browu^s. 

'^ The Petitioner appearing in person, and swearing to 
the allegations of his said Petition, It was ordered, 
that 500 acres of land only be granted him, and the 
Secretary was accordingly ordered to prepare a warrant for 
the same/' 

The statement in the foregoing petition indicates a rapid 
increase of slave property for that early period. John, 
George, and William Saunders appear to have been the first 
of that name. In a list of grants in the Surveyor- GeneraFs 
Office (as to which notice was given to the parties to apply 
for and take out their plots), appear the names of George 
Saunders for 300 acres. May 24th, 1735 ; and John Saunders 
for 200 acres, May 12, 1736. They came from England. 
John Saunders had two sons, George and Thomas. George* 
was the father of Nathanael Saunders, who became a man 
of some note, and was the father of the late Moses and 
Jordan Saunders, of Darlington. The sons of Thomas 
Saunders removed at an early period to Tennessee. 

Of the Gibsons, Gideon and Jordan were brothers. The 
latter went to the West as a companion of Daniel Boone. 
Gideon Gibsonf came with his father from Virginia to 
Pedee. There is a public record of a grant to him for 550 
acres of land as early as April, 1736. He settled at a place 
calleQl Hickory Grove, five miles from Sandy Bluff, on a 
large and fertile body of land, long after noted as the most 
valuable in that region. 



* George Saunders came to an untimely end, in connexion with which a 
singular incident is related. He was engaged on a Sunday in cutting down a 
bee tree, a cypress, in the swamp on the opposite side of the river. As the 
cypress fell, the limb of an ash was broken off, and being thrown with violence 
on the head of Saunders, killed him instantly. An ash afterwards came up at 
the head of his grave and grew to a large tree, being regarded by the people as 
a standing monument of the judgment sent upon him for the violation of the 
Loi'd's Day, which led to his end. 

It is but a few years since that the last vestige of this famous ash was to be 
seen. Near the spot are faint traces of the burial ground of the Sandy Bluff 
Settlement. 

t He was the grand-uncle of the late Captain John Gibson, of Darlington. 



74 HISTORY OE THE OLD CHEUAWS. 

He had three sons. Of these, Stephen^ became wealthy, 
and removed to Georgia about the year 1800. Roger, 
another son, removed to the West before the Revolution. 
Gideon Gibson was a man of very marked character, of 
commanding influence, and prominently connected with the 
leading events of the region in which he lived. His death 
took place during the Revolution, Of the circumstances 
attending it some account will be given hereafter. 

The settlement at Sandy Bluff was broken up at an early 
period, though some traces of it are yet to be seen.f 

The following extract from the Council Journal of 
January 26th, 1737, is supposed to have related to a com- 
pany of settlers on the west side of the river : — 

" Read the Petition of several poor Irish Protestants, lately 
come in, setting forth that they had transported themselves 
and families into this Province, being induced thereto by 
the encouragement of having lands granted to them in 
Town-ships, which his Majesty has been graciously pleased to 
order to poor Protestants, importing themselves into this 
Province, and likewise the bounty of provisions, and there- 
fore praying warrants of survey for the lands on either side 
of the Town-ships on Pedee River, and provisions, &c., ac- 
cording to the number of their families, as has been usually 
given to other poor Protestants. Recommended the same 
to the Commons House of Assembly. ''"'J 

The townships referred to here as being on the Pedee, 
were doubtless Queensborough and Kingston, the latter 
being on the Waccamaw. Who the petitioners were is not 
known. A notice of the first advertisement for the sale of 
lands in this region may throw some light on the locality 
of these poor Irish Protestants. This notice appeared in 
the Gazette of June 1, 1738, in these words : '•' To be sold. 



* The Hon. Thomas Butler King, formerly of Georgia, married a daughter 
of Stephen Gihson. 

t The author visited this interesting locality in company with the late Hugh 
Godbold, who took great pleasure in pointing out different points of interest. 
The visit was hurried and no careful examination made. 

A more thorough exploration, particularly about the site of the old church , 
would doubtless bring some interesting relics to light. Mr. Godbold had an 
antiquarian taste, and an appreciation of the past which is seldom met with. 
;|: " Council Journal," No. 7, p. 37. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 75 

a Tract of land^ of 100 acres; excellent good Land^ fronting 
upon Pcdee River^ and back on Jeffrey^s Creek ; also, one 
Tract of 500 acres, in Irish-town." Of tlie locality of Irish- 
town, we are left to conjecture. It was probably on 
Jeffrey^s Creek, and its inhabitants the Irish Protestants 
referred to. 

A few other names appear in the records of this region. 
As early as 1735, Walter and Ralph Izard settled on the 
east side of the river, not far below Mars Bluff. They 
removed lower down a few years after. About the same 
time (1735), a family of Jamesons made a settlement at 
Little BluflP, in what is now Marion district. 

In that, or the subsequent year, land was granted to a 
Colonel Jameson. 

Nathan Evans* was a Welchman, and settled on Cat 
Fish. He either came from the Welch Neck above, soon 
after his arrival there, or was one of those who went first 
to the lower part of the Welch Tract, and remained there. 
Lands in the neighbourhood of Tart^s Millf were granted to 
Nathan Evans, 

David Evans, a son of Nathan, was a captain in the 
Revolution, and a man of note. He died childless. About 
the same time, two families of James"* and Lucas^ came 
down the river, and settled on Cat Fish. With the latter of 
these, the Crawfords and Evans' intermarried. 

Soon after, a family of Baker's came from Newbern, 
N.C., to Pedee. One of this name married a daughter of 
Nathan Evans. William Baker was prominent in the 
Revolution, and marked for his devotion to the cause of 
liberty. 

The first settlements on Little Pedee were made a few 
years later (about 1740) by emigrants from Virginia and 
North Carolina — a lower class of people, many of whom 
became noted for their opposition to the cause of their 
country during its subsequent history. 

The name of Buckholdt, known among the earliest set- 



* Nathan Evans was the grandfather of the late Thomas Evans, and Gene- 
ral Wm. Evans, of Marion. The father of General Evans was also named 
Nathan, and was a man of upright character through life. 

t Tart's Mill is about six niiks above Marion, C.H. 



76 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS.- 

tlersj afterwards became prominent. Of this family were 
Abraham^ Jacobs and Peter. They settled on Cat Fish and 
in Cashway Neck. Major Abraham Biickholdt attained some 
distinction. This family were from Prussia. They were 
men of enterprise^ but of a roving disjDosition^ and left the 
Pedee at an early period."^ 

Thus closed the history of the first settlements on the 
Pedee. They were made between the years 1734 and 1740, 
the Welch element greatly preponderating. The river 
afforded facilities for transportation, of which advantage 
was taken. Stock raising was the most jjrofitable business, 
and laid the foundation of fortunes, which rapidly in- 
creased. The Indian gradually retreated; Providence 
favoured the white man with good seasons and a fertile 
soil ; and the tide of emigration thus begun, continued to 
flow^ in, until the troubles with the mother country, long 
gathering before the storm, at length burst upon the heads 
of a devoted people, put a temporary period to its pro- 
gress. 



* Soou after the Revolution the name disappeared. About that time 
Major Bucktioldt removed to Georgia, and subsequently to Mississippi, from 
whence two of his grandsons found their way to Texas. They are the only 
representatives of the name surviving, and are now respectable citizens of 
Milam County, Texas — worthy descendants of a trfie Whig stock. 

The only local trace of the name left in So. Ca. is in that of a Creek 
(Buekholdt's), four miles below the village of Society Hill in Darlington 
district. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



CHAPTER V. 

History of settlements continued — In neighbourliood of Welch Neck, above 
and below on the river — Petitions of settlers — Tlieir fiimilies and descen- 
dants — Certificates of character given — Battle of Culloden followed by tran- 
sportation of rebels to America, and emigrations to Pedee — Valuable addi- 
tions from this source — Settlers from No. Ca. — Huguenot element coming 
in — Braddock's defeat (1755) followed by emigrations from Pennsylvania 
and Virginia — Other settlers — Settlements on Lyche's Creek — Later addi- 
tions — Continued to opening years of Revolution, 

The history of the settlements on the Pedee has been 
brought down through what may be termed its first period, 
viz., from 1734 to 1740. During these years only occurred 
the emigration of such bodies of persons to certain locali- 
ties as could properly be termed colonies, as of the Welch 
above, and the Irish and English lower down on the river. 
There were also, as we have seen, individuals from different 
]"egions, who constituted valuable elements in the infant 
communities. From 1740 to 1760 large and important 
additions were made to the settlements, continuing, indeed, 
until the threatening difficulties with the Mother Country 
put a stop for the time to the increase of population from 
abroad. 

About the year 1740, came the family of Lide. There 
were three brothers of this name — John, Thomas, and 
Robert. They were of Welch origin, and came to Carolina, 
from Roanoke, Virginia. After the emigration of this 
family from Wales, the name was Anglicized, and assumed 
eventually its present form. In Welch it was written 
Llhuyd,* in subsequent records, Loyd, which spelling was 
found in some branches of the family down to a compara- 
tively recent period. 

Of the three brothers who came to Pedee, John, the 
eldest, left an only son, William, tlie father of John Wild 
Lide (who removed to and died in Tennessee), and of the 
late Mrs. Rebecca Punch, of Clieraw. 



* MiU's "Statistics of S. C," p. 618. 



78 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Thomas, the second son, settled on the river, at Cheraw 
Hill.^ He was educated in the Church of England, and 
took an active part in the organization of St. David^s Parish, 
having been a large contributor to the building of the 
church and the pecuniary resources of the parish afterwards. 
He married three times. By his fiist wife, who was a 
Miss Kimbrough, he had an only child, a daughter, the 
mother of the late Governor John Lyde Wilson, of So. 
Ca. By his second wife, a Miss Foster, he had five sous — 
John, Thomas, Charles Motte, Robert, and James ; also 
a daughter. t Of these sons, Charles Motte was a man of 
remarkable parts. His name will appear hereafter. Col. 
Lide was a man of high character, and died in 1787, uni- 
versally esteemed. 

Robert, the youngest brother, was born on Roanoke, Va. 
in 1734, and brought to Pedee, by a maternal uncle, Craw- 
ford. He settled on the west side of the riverj above, and 
afterwards near Cashway Ferry, § in what is now Darlington 
district, and became the head of an extensive family con- 
nexion. He was a prominent actor in the subsequent 
history of that region, and took an influential part among 
the Whigs of Pedee in the Revolution. He was at one 
time a Major under INIarion. Robert Lide married first, 
Sarah Kolb, by whom he had three sons — James, Hugh, and 
Peter. He afterwards married Mrs. Fort, and subsequently 
contracted a third marriage. || The second sou, the late 
Hugh Lide, of Darlington, was a man remarkable for 



* Colonel Lide, as he was afterwards kuown, settled on the plain, between 
the site of St. David's Church and the river. He gave the land on which St. 
David's Church was built. 

He subsequently became a prominent and influential Baptist, and donated 
the ground on which the first Baptist Church, at Cheravv Hill, was erected. 
This was between St. David's Church and the river, on the old road as it came 
up from the ferry. 

Of the original deed, executed in 1785, the author has a copy. 

t This lady became Mrs. Twitty, and afterwards Mrs. Burn. 

J The lands first settled by Major Lide, were in that large bend of the river 
below Sugar Loaf (a well-known point on Pedee), afterwards the property of 
the Saunders', and subsequently belonging to the late Colonel Bright William- 
son, of Darlington. 

§ This ferry took its name from having been called by one of the first owners 
of it, " Cash-way," meaning that all persons who crossed were to pay cash. 

II The fruits of this marriage were the late Mrs. James Lide, Mrs. Cyms 



HISTORY or THE OLD CHERAWS. 79 

strength of character and solidity of understanding ; of re- 
tiring disposition^ however, he sought not publicity, and 
passed away, after a useful life, little known beyond the 
limits of his native district. 

The name of Baxter appeared on the Pedee as early as 
1740. About this time lands were granted to James 
Baxter on the west side of the river, on Poke Swamp, in 
what is now Marion district. He was probably the father 
of Colonel John Baxter, a man of note in civil and military 
life in that region. 

After the Revolution the family moved lower down the 
river. 

In September, 1743, 400 acres of land in the Welch 
Tract were granted to John Luke. The name continued to 
be known many years after on Pedee. 

About this period William Colt and Abraham Colson 
settled on the east side of the river, below the Welch Neck. 
The name of Colson was long known, while that of Colt 
disappeared not many years afterward. 

In 1744, John Wilks obtained a grant for 748 acres of 
land in Craven county. He was the ancestor of a worthy 
family, whose descendants are yet found in Darlington and 
Chesterfield districts. From 1747 onwards, the influx of 
population was more rapid, and continued to increase. In 
the latter part of the year previous came George Hicks, 
from Virginia. The family was of English descent. Being 
a man of means and influence, Mr. Hicks induced a number 
of his own relatiA^es and others also to come with him. He 
became the head of a large connexion on the Pedee. The 
flrst record of his name is in a grant for land, in the 
Welch Tract, January 22nd, 1747. He had probably made 
a visit the year before. On the 18tli of November, 1747, 
as appears from the records of Council, " was j^resented 
the humble Petition of George Hicks ; setting forth, that 



Bacot, ami Mrs. James Pugli, of Darlington ; also John W. Lide, and Hannah, 
who married Thi)mas Hart. 

After her husband's death, Mrs. Lide married a Mr. HoUoway, of whom the 
late Jesse Holloway, of Darlington, was a son, a man of unassuming parts, but 
esteemed by all who knew him for his purity and excellence of character. 



80 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

he lately arrived from Virginia, witli a family consisting of 
nine whites and eleven blacks ; that he is willing to settle 
and cultivate a part of his Majesty's lands, — Praying, that 
he may obtain grants in proportion to the said numbers ; 
and being informed that a tract of land, containing 4,000 
acres, was surveyed in the Welch Tract for James Griffith, 
by virtue of a warrant, dated December 6th, 1745, requiring 
the same to be returned into the Secretary's Office for a 
grant in 13 months, a Plot of which has passed the 
Surveyor-Generars Office above a year ago, but no return 
made thereof into the Secretary's Office ; and the said 
Griffith having some time ago left this Province, and as has 
been reported, and is generally believed, has since come to 
an untimely end. Wherefore, the Petitioner prays his 
Excellency & Hon% to direct the Surveyor- General to cer- 
tify the said Plot in his name, and that he may obtain a 
grant thereof, though previously certified by him for the said 
Griffith ; and also that the said Surveyor-General may be 
directed to certify for the Petitioner two Tracts of land in 
the Welch Tract, — one containing 200 acres, the other 100 
acres, — surveyed for James Jones, by virtue of a Warrant, 
dated February 12th, 1745, requiring a return into the Secre- 
tary's Office in 1 2 months ; which said Plots were returned 
into the Surveyor- General's Office, March 9th, 1746, where 
they now lie, no application having been made for the same. 
Your Petitioner further prays, that, in your order to the 
Surveyor, you may direct him to admeasure and lay out 
300 acres of land in the Welch Tract, being in the whole 
1000 acres. 

" Upon examining the said Petition, and enquiring into 
his Family right, it appearing that three in whose right he 
had petitioned were not of his own family, being his Sister's 
children, and the third, his Overseer, it was Ordered, that 
the Surveyor-Gen' do certify the Plots prayed for in the 
name of the Petitioner, and that 150 acres may also be 
surveyed for him in the Welch Tract," 

Having thus secured a sul^stautial landed estate, George 
Hicks began a successful career, and amassed a large for- 
tune. He married a widow, Mrs. Sarah Gardiner (a 
daughter of the Rev. Philip James, first pastor of the 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 81 

Welch Neck Cliurcli), and raised a large family, from whom 
a numerous progeny sprang. 

Mrs. Gardiner, at the time of her marriage with Mr. 
Hicks, had a daughter, Sarah, who became the second wife 
of William Pegnes, of Chesteriield. The fiaiits of her 
marriage with Mr. Hicks were five daughters and two sous. 
Of the latter, Benjamin died young ; George married a 
Miss Hicks, and moved at an early period to the West. 
The daughters'^ were Mary, Elizabeth, Nancy, Lucy, and 
Charlotte. Colonel Hicks, as he Avas afterwards known, 
was a man of high character and extensive influence. His 
name will frequently appear in connexion with St. David^s 
parish, and the opening scenes of the Revolution. 

Of those who are known to have emigrated to the Pedee 
with Colonel Hicks, was a brother, William. He had three 
sons — Charles, Benjamin, and Daniel. 

Daniel Hicks lived in Bichmond County, N.C., near the 
State line, and was an active Whig in the Revolution. His 
family, after his death, removed to Georgia. The family of 
Benjamin Hicks also left Carolina at an early period. 

In the year 1747, other names appear as grantees of 
land in the Welch Tract. Among these were John 
Powell, Alexander Staples, John Singleton, and Edward 
Boyakin. 

In March, 1748, John Purvis petitioned Council for 150 
acres of land on Thompson's Creek, f Pedee River, stating 



* Mary married Malachi Murphy, and had several children, of whom aecomit 
has been given. 

Elizabeth married a cousin, Benjamin Hicks, who removed to the West. 

Nancy married Thomas Godfrey. The children of this mairiage were Sophia, 
Harriet (afterwards Mrs. Samuel Gillespie), Mary (Mrs. Saunders), Ehzabeth, 
William, Samuel, Wilson, George, Richard, and Thomas. 

Lucy mai'ried George Strother, and was the mother of Elizabeth (who married 
Robert Gregg), Mary (afterwards Mrs, Deer), Harriet (Mrs. Broucjhton), and a 
son, George. Charlotte, the youngest daughter, mirricd John Wilson. 

Of this marriage the sons, Benjamin and George, died young. The daughters 
were Eleanor, afterwards Mrs. James A. Harrington ; Sarah J., who married 
Oliver H. KoUock ; and Anne, who became the wife of James A. Hart. Of 
this large number, but few survive. And such have been the changes of time, 
that not one of the name of Hicks is now known on the Pedee, though there 
are many descendants. 

■f The descendants of John Purvis, as has not very often been the case in this 
country of change, have continued in possession, as is supposed, of the land first 
granted, and remain there, some of them at least, to the present day. 

O 



82 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

that lie had a wife and one child ; that he came from Vir- 
ginia the year previous, and had no land assigned him. His 
petition was granted. 

About the same time was presented the petition of John 
Rushing, stating that he came from Virginia with a wife 
and one child, and had made a settlement in the Welch 
Tract on Thompson's Creek. A grant of 150 acres was 
made to him. 

In 1749, Joshua Edwards emigrated to the Pedee. He 
was born in Pembrokeshire, South Wales, February 11th, 
1703-4, and removed before his maturity to Pennsylvania, 
or the Welch Tract in Delaware, as it afterwards became. 
Here he remained about thirty years before following his 
countrymen to Carolina. He petitioned for land in 1751, 
stating that he was a settler in this Province, having come 
nearly two years since from Philadelphia, and that he had a 
wife and one child. His petition was granted. By his first 
wife, Joshua Edwards had two soos,^ Thomas and Abel, and 
two daughters, Rachel and Phoebe. By his second wife, 
three sons,t Henry,Elijah, and John, and one daughter, Mary. 

Joshua Edwards was ordained in 1751, and became the 
third pastor of the Welsh Neck Church. This connexion 
ceased after six years. He then took charge of the Mount 
Pleasant congregation, near Cashway Eerry, an ofF-shoot 
from the Welch Neck Church ; and, resigning this, con- 
tinued his work on Little Pedee, where he remained until 
1768. Mr. Edwards was a man of ardent piety and great 
purity of character. He lived to see of his posterity eighty- 
two, and died August 32nd, 1784.| 



* Thomas, the first son, married Sarah Roblyn, the fruit of which marriage 
was but one child, Joshua Edwards, jun. Abel, the second son, married Sarah 
Harry; and afterward Sarah Douthel (Dousnol, as it appears in the earliest 
records). His children were Catharine, who married Thrashley Chapman ; 
Edward, who married Mary Dewitt ; and Sarah, who married John McDonald. 

Rachel, the elder daughter, married Roderic Mclver. Phoebe, the younger 
dauo'hter, married Josiah Evans. Abel Edwards lived on the north side of 
Cedar Creek, near the crossing of the Cheraw and Darlington R.R. 

+ Of the sons of Joshua Edwards by his second marriage, John married 

Elizabeth Bevil, Henry married Elizabeth Oliver, Elijah , and Mary, 

the daughter, John Rodgers. Henry Edwards is remembered by some persons 
of the present day as an old revolutionary soldier. He was a man of stout 
frame, and told of many a hard-fought battle through which he had passed. 

J Wood Furman's " History of Charleston Association," pp. 70, Vl. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 83 

Abel, his second son, was a useful man, and a liigldy- 
esteemed member and deacon of the Welch Neck Church. 
He died in 1793. His son, the late Major Edward Edwards, 
of Chesterfield district, was the father of a large family, of 
which there are many descendants. Tbomas Edwards re- 
ceived his education at the North. He died in Charles- 
town at an early age, January 1st, 1776. 

In 1751, a name appeared for tbe first time in the history 
of settlements on the Pedee, which was destined to become 
distinguished in its future history. On the 2nd of April of 
that year, Henry Kolb petitioned Council for land, in or 
near the Welch Tract; stating that he was a settler in the 
same, with three in family, himself and two negroes, and 
that he was willing to cultivate the soil. He obtained a 
grant for 150 acres. Two years later, Peter Kolb also 
petitioned for land, stating that he had for some years been 
a settler in the Welch Tract ; also Jacob Kolb, who ap- 
peared, from his petition, to have had then a plantation on 
the Pedee. He asked for more land. Martin Kolb was 
another settler of the name. They came from Pennsylvania. 
Peter Kolb married Ann, the eldest daughter of the Rev. 
Philip James. The fruits of this marriage were five chil- 
dren — Abel,* who became so distinguished, married Sarah 
James ; Ann James, who married Joshua Edwards jf Han- 
nah, who married Joseph Dabbs;J Benjamin,§ who married 
Elizabeth Murphy; aiid^Sarab^wIm luarried Evander M'Iver.|| 



* Tlie fruits of this marriage were Ann, who married the late Major James 
Pouncey, of Marlborough, of venerable memory, from whom a large connexion 
have descended ; Sarah, who married first Benjamin David, and afterward 
Philip Pledger ; and a son, James, who died young. 

t Joshua, the grandson of Rev. Joshua Edwards, had four children— Sarah, 
who married James Hart, and afterwards .John Mcintosh ; Thomas, who died 
at manhood ; Peter, who married Jame Draughton ; and Ann James, who 
married John Kirven, and afterwards Daniel Dubose. 

X The children of Joseph Dabbs were — Nancy, who married Benjamin 
Williams ; Samuel, who married Sarah Grove ; and William, who married 
Martha Elison. 

§ The children of this marriage were — Nancy, who married David Arclier ; 
Harriet, who married James Holloway ; Abel, who married a Miss Meigs; 
Sarah, who remained single; Betsey, wlio married a Mr. Mctjuirt; and Mary, 
who married Thomas Meigs. 

II Evander Mclver had ten children — Catharine, who married Samuel Ev;ins ; 
Nancy J., who remained single ; Rachel, who married Jesse Holloway ^jLuUj" 
Kolb, who married Sarah Marshall; Evander, who married Eliza Cowan -Abel, 

' G 2 .. 



84 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

The late Jehu Kolb, of Darlington, was a collateral relative 
of Abel Kolb,* probably the grandson of one of the first 
settlers of the name already mentioned. He was a man of 
unassuming character and retiring virtues, but bold and 
fearless when occasion demanded. He rendered effective 
service in the Revolution, carrying the marks of serious in- 
juries received to his grave, and died some years since, uni- 
versally respected. 

In May, 1751, Anthony Pouncey obtained a grant for 
land in the Welch Tract. He petitioned for and obtained 
a grant for 800 acres on the Wateree, April 6th, 1749, 
where he probably settled first. In this petition he stated 
that he had a wife, six children, and eight slaves. The name 
of William Pouncey appears about the same time. The 
former was probably the father of Williamf and Roger. J 

In 1751, the name of John Todd appears as a grantee of 



who married Ann Chapman, and subsequently Eachel Love ; Peter Kolb, who 
married Elizabeth Chapman, and afterwards Mrs. Maria Nettles ; Thomas A., 
who married Nancy Howard, of Alabama ; Eliza, who married Thomas Griffin; 
and Mary Ann Williams, who married Horatio Cannon. 

Mrs. Joshua Edwards, who survived her husband, married Enoch Evans. The 
fruits of this marriage were six children — Margaret James, who married William 
Kirven ; Thomas, who married Mary Brooks ; John, who married Mary Craig ; 
Hannah Kolb, who married John F. Wilson ; Enoch, who married Ann Pegnes ; 
and Benjamin, who died at an early age. 

* Through his wife Abel Kolb became possessed of the plantation at the 
public ferry (Sparks') near Society Hill. His residence was a two-story brick 
building, immediately on the east bank of the river, a short distance above the 
ferry. The cellar-walls of this dwelling were brought to view a few years 
since by a freshet in the river breaking over the embankment, and interesting 
relics were obtained. 

f William Pouncey died when quite young, leaving one son, the late Major 
James Pouncey — and a daughter, who married Alexander Peterkin, the father 
of Jesse and James Peterkin of Marlborough, well known to the present 
generation in that district. Major Pouncey married Ann Kolb, and reared a 
large family. His sons were William, who married Sarah Sparks; James, 
who married, first, Mary Pledger, and afterward, Mary Forniss ; John A., who 
married Miss Armstrong, of N. C. ; and Peter A. K., who married Miss Ade- 
laide Hodge. 

His daughters were Sarah, who married U. M. Crosland; 

Mary, „ Dr. Robert S. Thomas ; 

Eliza, „ Win. Crosland ; 

Ann Jane, „ John Smith, of N. C. 

J Roger Pouncey had two sous — Anthony and William — and three daugh- 
ters — Mary, Lucy, and Delilah. 

Anthony Pouncey died in Marlborough early in the present century. His 
wido^ afterwards married, and removed with her family to the West. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 85 

land on Pedee. This name continued to be known long 
after in Chesterfield District. 

In ] 752, an important addition was made to the settle- 
ment above the Welcli Neck, on the east side of the ri^^er. 
Philip Pledger came from Virginia during that year, on a 
visit to the Pedee, as appears from the following certi- 
ficate : — 

'' Amelia County : I, Charles Irby, one of bis Majesty's 
Justices of the Peace of the said County, do bereby certify, 
that the Bearer, Philip Pledger, is and has been an Inhabi- 
tant of this County 12 years, and behaved well, and has 
published his intention of travelling into Carolina, There- 
fore I desire all Persons to permit the said Philip Pledger to 
pass and repass upon his lawful affairs, as he may have oc- 
casion. Given under my hand and seal, this 17tb of March, 
1 752. " Chakles Irby." 

This interesting relic* indicates how closely the traveller 
was watched, and the importance attached to character at a 
time when any new comer was closely scrutinized by those 
among whom he was to settle. Having selected a valuable 
body of land on Pedee, Mr. Pledger returned for his family, 
with whom he also brought back other emigrants. Among 
these was a family of Councill, closely connected with the 
Pledgers ; and afterwards numerous, but which, in name at 
least, has long since disappeared. Philip Pledger married 
a Miss Ellis, of Va. He had two sons, Joseph and John, 
and two daughters ; one of these married James Hicks, the 
other married, first, a Councill, and afterward Wm. Ter- 
rill, a son of one of the Welch settlers. Joseph and John 
were old enough to take part with their father in the Revo- 
lution. Philip Pledger, though advanced in years when 
the war commenced, was active notwithstanding, and ren- 
dered efficient service. In 1754 he received a commission 



* This document was found at the house of Philip Pledger, Esq., of Marl- 
borough, a great-grandson of the first settler. 

He resides at the old family seat on the lands originally purchased, and which 
have remained in the family ever since. Here the author found the largest 
and most valuable collection of early manuscript matter anywhere met with, 
to which Mr. Pledger kindly gave him free access to use as he might desire. 



86 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

as Captain of Militia in his Majesty's service. Capt. Pledger 
was a man of high character and generous traits. Possessed 
of large means^ he was able as he was willing to contribute 
to the public welfare. 

In the beginning of the troubles with the Mother Country 
he received the highest marks of confidence from his fellow- 
citizensj and faithfully discharged the important trusts com- 
mitted to him. He died at an advanced age. 

About this time, valuable additions were made to the 
settlements on Little Pedee in the upper part of what is 
now Marion District. Among these were the Betheas, of 
whom William Bethea was one of the first and most promi- 
nent. He was an active Whig. A large and respectable 
connexion of this name are yet found in Marion. Another 
settler at this period, still lower down on the Pedee, was 
Jacob Grice. He came from North Carolina. The family 
has been well known in Marion. 

In 1752, the name of Gregg first appeared on the Pedee. 
This family was of Scottish origin. Not long after the time 
of Cromwell a part, if not all of them, removed fi'om the 
North of Scotland to Londonderry, Ireland, from whence 
the emigration to America took place. On 3rd July, 1752, 
John Gregg petitioned Council, stating, that he was desirous 
of settling himself and family in this Province — that his 
family consisted of himself and wife, one Dutch servant, and 
five negroes, for whom no grant had been obtained, — and 
that he was desirous of getting two plots of 500 acres each, 
which had been surveyed for Mr. John Atkins about 1735- 
36, and were still lying in the Surveyor-GeneraFs ofiice. 
He obtained grants for 1350 acres. At the same time Dr. 
John Gregg"^ petitioned for land lower down, in the fork of 
Black River and Pedee. 

With John Gregg came a brother, Joseph. They were 
known, as were many others who came to the Province 
about the same time, as Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. Such 
was the Colony in Williamsburg. From these brothers, 
John and Joseph, descended the large connexion of the 



* Dr. John Gregg was probably a near relative of John and Joseph, but of 
his subsequent history nothing is known. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 87 

name, most numerously represented in Marion. Branches 
of the family settled also in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, 
and Virginia. 

The children^ of John Gregg and Eleanor, his wife, were 
James, John, Margaret, Robert, Mary, William, and Jennet. 
James, the eldest, married Mary Wilson, of the Presbyte- 
rian Colony in Williamsburg, and reared a large family. 
James Gregg lived on the west side of the river, on Poke 
Swamp. He was a captain in the_Revolution, and with 
his brothers, who were of age, rendered efficient service in 
the cause of liberty. Joseph Gregg was also the father of 
a large family.f He was a brave and valiant Whig. John 
Gregg died about the latter part of the year 177^,- having 
lived long enough to see the beginning of the troubles that 
were to come upon his children. 

In Nov. 1753, John Stubbs obtained a grant for lands on 
Cat Fish. He was probably the ancestor of the large con- 
nexion of that name, since known in Marlborough District. 

The battle of Cvilloden, which occurred in April 1746, led 
to the removal of many families to America. Among those 
who were ranked as rebels in that conflict and afterward, 
were several names which appeared about this time on the 
Pedee. Of these were M^Iver, Mcintosh, and Cusack. 

The accounts of the battle were received in Charles-town, 
and published in the July following. 



* The children of James Gregg, were Jeijnefc, who married James Hudson ; 
Mary, who married Adam Marshdl : Sarali, Vho married a Mr. Jones, and re- 
moved to the west at an early period ; Margaret, who married Samuel Hall, of 
No. Ca. ; John, who married his cousin, Je'Jinet Qregg ;- David, who married 
Athalinda Brocky ; James, who married -Cornelia M-axcyj Ehzabeth, who married 
W. Davidson Hall, of No. Ca. ; and Elias, who never married. 

John Gregg married Eleanor McKnight, and had ten children — Jane, John, 
Alexander, Jennet, William, Samuel, James, Margaret, Robert, and Elizabeth. 

Margaret married a Mr. Scott. The fruits of this marriage were six cliildreu 
— Elizabeth, Rebecca, Mary, Samuel, John, alnd William. 

Robert had but one child, a daughter. 

Mary married Mr. Askins, and had four children — Samuel, John, Robert, 
and William. 

William was the father of nine children — Robert James, William Gordon, 
Eliza, Gadsden, Levi, Wilds, Boyd, William, and Susannah. 

Jennet married Mr. Bingham, and had several children. 

t The children of Joseph Gregg were Alexander, Robert, Joseph, Jennet, 
Mary, Margaret, and Sarah. The descendants of most of these remain in 
Marion. 



88 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Among the ladies in custody, the Laird of M'lntosh^s 
wife is mentioned, and Col. and Ensign M'Intosh were 
among the rebel officers slain. The names of Cusack and 
Murphy were among the prisoners. 

A correspondent of the Charles-town Gazette, writing 
from London, May 10, said, " we are assured that his 
Majesty has been pleased to order such of the Rebel private 
men as his Royal Highness shall think proper objects of 
his clemency, to be transported to some of his Majesty's 
American Colonies." 

Soon after this his Majesty's Council in this Province 
congratulated his Excellency, the Governor, on the glorious 
defeat of the rebels at Culloden. To some of these rebels 
and their children America was afterwards largely indebted 
for valiant services in the cause of freedom. 

In 1756 the names of M'lver and M'Intosh appear 
among our early records. In this year Sarah M'lver was 
a grantee of land on Lynches Creek. Roderick M'lver was 
one of the first of this family. He came directly from 
Scotland. His first wife was Anne Rogerson. Soon after 
his arrival he married Rachel, daughter of Rev. Joshua 
Edwards, and had three children, Evander, John E., and 
Catharine. Evander M'lver married Sarah Kolb, as already 
related, from whom a large family have descended. He 
was long and prominently connected with the Welch Neck 
Church. John E. married Mary Anne Williams."^ Catharine 
married first Josiah Evans, . and aftterwards the Rev. Edmond 
Botsford,t a Baptist Minister of high standing and great 
excellence. Roderick M'lver died in March, 1768; of that 
branch of the family (if they were connected) represented 
by Sarah M'lver, nothing is known. 

In the year 1756 John M'Intosh obtained a grant for 
land on Black River. He probably came soon after to the 



* The fruits of this marriage were John E., who died at manhood ; Ann 
Eliza, who married Jolm W. Davis ; Catharine, who died in infancy ; David 
Rogerson AVilhams, who married Caroline Wilds, and afterwards Martha E. 
Grant; Thomas E., who married EHza iVMntosh, and suhsequently Sarah Bacot ; 
and Alexander, who married Mary Haiiford. 

t Mr. Botsford's second wife was Catharine Evans, by whom he had one 
child, Catharine, who married Moses Fort. He contracted afterwards a third 
and fourth marriage. The children by his first marriage died in infancy. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 89 

neigliborhood of the Welch Neck, on Pedee. John and 
Alexander, two brothers, were the first of this name. John, 
the elder of the two, settled about two miles below Long 
Bluff, on the west side of the river.* He married a 
Miss Mikell, and had five sonsf — Alexander, John, Loch- 
lin, William, and James. John M'Intosh died in 177 4>. 

The name, in only two branches of his family, is now 
represented on the Pedee. 

Alexander, the younger brother, settled on the east side 
of the river, a few miles below Long BluflF, in the Welch 
Keck. He married a Miss^James, and had three children J ^^ 
— Catharine, John, and Eleanor. 

Acquiring probably a good property by his marriage, he 
subsequently amassed a large fortune, and was prominently 
connected with the history of the Pedee in civil and military 
affairs. He was of handsome and commanding person, and 
possessed of a better education than was common in that 
day. His name will often appear in the following pages. 
He is said to bave been the first of the early planters Avho 
brought the native African to this region. 

The family of Mikell came about this time to Pedee. 
There were two brothers, John and William, and a sister. 
The latter, as has been stated, married John M'Intosh. 
John, the elder brother, settled on the west side of the river, 
a few miles above Long Bluff.§ He became a Major in the 



* On tlie public highway, leading to George-town, just above Cock -run (a 
small swainp stream), where the traces of an ancient settlement are still to be 
seen. 

t Of these Alexander, the eldest son, well known afterwards as Captain 
M'lntosh, served actively in the Revolution. John, the second son, married 
a Miss Mikell, and died early : Locldin, a Miss' Vereen, near George-town; 
William, a Miss Mikell, daughter of John Mikell (the late Mrs. F. C. Watson, 
of Chesterfield, was a child of this marriage) ; James, the youngest son, married 
a Miss Lucas, and was the father of the late J times H. M'Intosh, of Society Hill. 
The father died early. His widow, a lady of advanced years, died in 1862. She 
was one of the few links left connecting the present v. ith that generation. 

X Catharine married, and moved away at an early period. 

John married, and died prematurely, leavirg two children — Alexander and 
Eleanor. The latter became the wife of Alexander Norwood, formerly of Dar- 
lington. 

Eleanor M'Intosh married a Mr. Bembridge, who removed to Maryland. 

§ This was on the first sand hill, near the river swamp, at what has in 
later years been known as the Falconer-place, on the old road from Cheraw 
HiU to Long Bluff. 



90 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Revolution^ and was a man of decided character and in- 
fluence. William, the younger brother, was killed by the 
Tories. 

These settlers soon became thoroughly identified with 
the Welch. Intermarriages speedily took place, and re- 
ligious differences were eventually laid aside for the bonds 
of a common faith, which were long after to unite them. 
The M'IntosVs and Mclver's were Presbyterians in the 
Mother Country. 

In May, 1761, a formal covenant and confession of 
faith was signed, and Alexander Mcintosh and Roderick 
M'lver were received into union with the Welch Neck 
Church. 

About this time (1756), the names of Joseph Brocking- 
ton, John Kimbrough, Abraham Odam, John Holloway, 
James Sweeney, Charles Lowder,* (or Lowther), Samuel 
Windes, James and Alexander M'Kown, and (in the follow- 
ing year) George Nettles, are found among the records of 
our early settlements. 

The most of these appear to have taken lands in the 
middle and lower parts of what is now Darlington District. 

Joseph Brockington probably settled lower down on 
the river. This family was of English descent. The first 
of the name who came to the upper Pedee was Richard 
Brockington. He remained a short time in Charles-town, 
then purchased lands on the Pedee above George-town, and 
subsequently moved up the river. He had two sons and a 
daughter. William, the eldest, married Penelope Benton, 
who afterwards became Mrs. Bishop ; Richard married 
Mary Hartjf and Rebecca, the daughter, married James 
Pawley. 

John Kimbrough came from Wake County, N"- C^- He 
settled about ten miles below Long BluflP, on the west side 



* From this name came that of the lake (supposed to be the ancient bed of 
tlie river) so well known in Darlington. Charles Lowder probably settled in 
that neighborhood. The name, other than in this locality, disappeared at an 
early period. 

i" The late Mrs. Brockington, of Darlington District, whose mansion was 
for so many years the seat of the most generous hospitality. The chief delight 
of this excellent lady seemed to consist in ministeriug to the happiness of 
others. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 91 

of the river, and became a man of prominence in that 
region. He married Hannah Kolb, and had a daughter, 
Elizabeth, who became the wife of Lemuel Benton, a name 
destined to become distinguished in the history of the Pedee. 
Major Kimbrough was a staunch Whig, but too advanced in 
years when the war began to render active service. 

His death took place in August, 1796. Of the other 
names mentioned as having appeared about this time, the 
Nettles^ and M^Kown^s have continued to be known in Dar- 
lington and Marion as large and respectable connexions. 
James Sweeney is supposed to have been the progenitor of 
the present family of Henegan. 

It is known that this was called the Sweeney family at 
an early period. When or why the change took place, is 
not known to the present generation. 

Barney, who was probably the son of James Sweeney, 
had two sons. Darby and John. Darby was the father of 
the late Dr. B. K. and Ephraim L. Henegan, of Marlborough. 
His daughters were Drusilla, who married L. E. Stubbs, 
and Lucretia, who married Alex. McCoUum. 

John Sweeney married a Miss Ridgel, and died young. 
John S. Henegan was the first of that name. The families 
became connected, and two generations back, took the name 
of Henegan. They lived first in Marion, where a portion of 
their descendants'^yet reside ; the other, a highly respectable 
branch of the family, being in Marlborough. 

About this period, came a family, in numbers and in- 
fluence, prominently connected with Darlington District 
from an early period. John Du Bose was the first of the 
name who removed to this region. He was of Huguenot 
descent, and came from that settlement on Santee to Lynchers 
Creek. His sons were Isaac, Elias, Daniel, and Joseph. 
These brothers lived in the same neighborhood,^ were 
men of property before the Revolution, and took an active 
part in that struggle. Daniel was a captain, and Isaac 



* This settlement was on the east side of Lynche's Creek, at a point just 
above the crossing of the Wilmington and Manchester, R. R. ; a^neighborhood 
in which a sanguinary struggle was carried on with the Tories, and in which 
the Du Bose's took a decisive part. 



92 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

bore honorable office. Elias^ the second son, was prominent 
for character and influence. He was a magistrate of note 
before and after the war. He married Lydia Cassels, of 
Sumpter_, and reared a large family.* A sister, Rebecca, 
married her cousin, Andrew Du Bose,t vvhose name will 
ajjpear in a prominent connexion in the history of the 
Revolution. Another sister, Margaret, married W™' Dick. J 
Mr. Dick was an active Whig, and noted for strength and 
courage. He removed, after the war, to Darlington. 
Peter Du Bose, one of the earlier of the name, was of re- 
spectable revolutionary memory. 

Soon after Braddock^s defeat, the frontier inhabitants of 
Virginia and Pennsylvania began to move further south ; 
and the region of the Pedee was settled by a few of them. 
The progress of population was slow previous to the Indian 
Treaty, in 1755 ; after which it began to increase. 

John Donaldson was an early settler in what is now 
Marlborough District. He removed soon after to Richmond 
County, N. C, and there became a Col. of Militia. He 
died during the war. 

Charles Irby came from Virginia, and settled in the 
neighborhood of Philip Pledger, on the east side of the 
river. In October, 1768, he married Mehitabel Kolb, and 
became a prominent and influential character. Col, Irby, 
as he was afterwards known, was the progenitor of a large 
family connexion. § He died shortly after the Revolution. 
Edmond Irby, a brother or near relative of Charles Irby, 
took an active part as Captain in the revolutionary 
struggles. 

In 1758, Thomas Ayer emigrated to Pedee. He came 



* Jesse, Isaiab, and John Du Bose were sons of Elias. 

■j" The sons of this marriage were Benjamin, Samuel, and Joshua, who lived 
on Lynche's Creek. 

J The mother of the late John D. Witherspoon, of Society Hill, was a Miss 
Dick. 

§ Of the children of Colonel Irby, Charles married Rebecca Evans, sister of 
the late Hon. Josiah J. Evans. 

James married a Miss Wright, of Marlborough. 

Elizabeth became the wife of William Pledger. 

Anne married Thomas Lide, and another daughter married a Forniss. 

The family of Charles Irby, after his death, removed to Alabama, and are 
well known in that State. The name was spelled Yerbcy in some of the 
earlier records, and was thus pronounced by many for a long time after. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 93 

from Ireland to Virginia, and from thence to Carolina. He 
settled on the east side of the river, a few miles below 
Hunt^s Bluff, set up a trading establishment, and amassed a 
comfortable property. Of an ardent temperament, and en- 
thusiastic in his love of liberty, Thomas Ayer would cheer- 
fully have sacrificed life and fortune had it been necessary 
for its advancement. Of his children, were Lewis Malone, 
born in 1769, the head of a large and respectable family in 
Barnwell District ; and the late Hartwell Ayer, of Marl- 
borough, from whom a most worthy family have descended.* 

About this time came a family whicli was to contribute a 
large and valuable element to the population of Marlborough. 
Tristram Thomas, from whom this family is descended, 
emigrated from Wales to the Province of Maryland in the 
early part of the last century. He died February 11th, 
1746, leaving a numerous family, of whom a portion re- 
mained in Maryland, and others emigrated, it is said,, to 
Pennsylvania and Virginia. His eldest son, Stephen, emi- 
grated to North Carolina, about the year 1750, and died 
there, leaving a large family. Several of his sons and 
daughters subsequently came to the Pedee, of whom a por- 
tion removed, soon after the Revolution, to the then North- 
West Territory. This family was originally, and long con- 
tinued to be, of the Society of Friends. While in Marl- 
borough, they worshipped near Adamsville.f 

Stephens's children were, Sarah, Robert, Stephen, Mary, 
William, John, Susan, Elizabeth, Lewis, Tristram, Phile- 
mon, Benjamin, and James, born between the years 1731 
and 58, inclusive. 

Of these, Robert, the eldest son, married Mary Sands in 

* To tliis venerable gentleman, through the kind assistance of liis son, 
General L. M. Ayer, of Barnwell, the author is indebted for a thrilling narra- 
tive of scenes connected with the revolutionary struggle on the Pedee, and 
much other information of interest. Mr. Ayer, though quite a youth at the 
time to which his narrative refers, retained a distinct recollection of the most 
important events which fell under his observation. After liis majority he left 
the Pedee, and settled in Barnwell. He died at his residence in Barnwell 
District in 1863, at the advanced age of 93, the last link which connected the 
present with the revolutionary era of the Pedee. 

■j* Now known as Piney Grove. The original house of worship, having been 
purchased by Christians of different denominations, was long free to all, but 
ultimately fell into the hands of the Methodists, the Baptists building at 
Beaver-dam. 



94 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

1756. They reared a large family.* The Eev. Eobert 
Thomas was for fifty years a faithful minister of the gospel, 
laboring with his own hands for the support of his house- 
hold. The old Churches at Beaver-dam and Salem, in Marl- 
borough, Avere established through his instrumentality He 
abandoned the faith of his fathers at an early period, and 
united himself with the Baptists. He was preaching when 
the Revolution began, and gave his eldest surviving son to the 
service of his country. He died at Britton^s Neck, Marion 
District, at the advanced age of 84, while on a missionary 
tour to the destitute in that region. 

Lewis, the second son, married a Miss Breeden, a name 
long known in Marlborough. Many of their descendants 
yet remain in that district. 

Tristram, the seventh son, was born July 28th, 1752. 
He married a Miss Hollingsworth, of one of the Welch 
families. Though but a few years past his maturity when 
the Revolution commenced, he embarked actively in that 
trying contest, and became a prominent character. 

William Thomas, of another branch of the same family, 
emigrated about this time from Maryland. He came as an 
adventurous youth, and found a kind friend in Col. George 
Hicks. While living with Col. Hicks, he married his niece, 
a Miss Little, who was possessed of a good property. He 
settled on the east side of the river; a few miles above 
Cheraw, and amassed a large fortune. He had one child, a 
son, William Little, who married Clarissa Benton. The 
fruits of this marriage were two sons,t William L. and 
Alexander. The father, William L. Thomas, was a man of 
brilliant talents. The name of this branch of the family 
has become extinct. 

About the year 1760, Claudius Pegnes came to Pedee. 
He settled on the east side of the river not far below the 
State line. This family was of French descent. The father 



* The children of Robert Thomas were Tristram, Elizabeth, Nathan, Sarah, 
John Sands, Lucy, Robert, H. Elijah, William, Jesse, Eli, and Benjamin. 

The last of this large family, Eli, died in 1854. Many of their descendants 
are scattered through the West. 

f Alexander died young. William L. married Jane M'Qneen, of Chester- 
field, and died childless. This lady afterwards married the late Hon. John 
Campbell, of Marlborough. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 95 

of Claudius Pegnes is supposed to have left France after 
the Revocatiou of the Edict of Nantes, and with his wife, a 
Swiss lady, settled in London. Claudius, their son, emi- 
grated to Carolina, and married a Miss Butler, in Charles- 
towTi in 1748-9. He removed thence to George-town, 
where his children were born. After his settlement on 
Pedee he was prominently connected with St. David^s 
Parish. He died in 1790. Of his children, only two sons, 
William and Claudius, reached maturity. William mar- 
ried Elizabeth Murphy, and settled on the west side of the 
river above Cheraw, and near the N. C. line. The fruit of 
his first marriage was a daughter, Harriet, who married 
William Powe. His second wife was Sarah Gardiner, a 
step-daughter of Col. George Hicks. Wm. Pegnes was a 
man of more cultivated tastes^ than was usual at that day. 
He was a staunch Whig, aud with others in this region, as 
will be seen hereafter, suffered severely from the depreda- 
tions of the Tories. 

Claudius, the younger son, married Marcia Murphy, and 
settled near his father, in the upper part of what is now 
Marlborough District. 

A daughter, Henrietta, and other children died young. 
Of his four sons who grew up, William married JNIiss Speed 
(of N°- C), and late in life Maria Punch of Cheraw ; James 
married Jane, a daughter of Wm. Johnson, of Sneeds- 
borough, N. C. ; Malachi married Charlotte, another 
daughter ; and Christopher married Eliza, a daughter of Col. 
Thomas Evans. f These brothers all reared large families, 
from whom a numerous and highly respectable connexion 
have descended. 

Claudius Pegnes, their father, was an active Whig, and a 
man of great usefulness in his day. 



* The remains of a very excellent library were seen by the author a few years 
since in the neighborhood of Mr. Pegnes's former residence. 

■f Colonel Evans was the father of the late Hon. Josiah J. Evans, of Dar- 
lington. He niai'ried Elizabeth Hodge, and had five children, viz. : — 

Thomas, who married a daughter of Harris Evans ; Josiah James, who married 
Dorothy Dewitt; Abel; Rebecca, who married Charles Irby ; and Eliza, who 
married Christopher Pegnes. Colonel Evans lived a little out from the Welch 
Neck, near the public road leading from Long Bluff to the Old Marlborough, 
C. H. 



96 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

In 1759 the Rev. Nicholas Bedgegoocl came to Pedee, 
having been called to the charge of the Welch Neck Church. 
This charge was not assumed, however, until the following 
year. He succeeded E,ev. Robert Williams. Mr. Bedgegood 
was born at Thornbury, in Gloucestershire, England, January 
30, 1731.^ He came to America in 1751, and was for 
some time connected with Mr. Whitfield, in the Georgia 
Orphan House. He became a Baptist in 1757, and not 
long after received the call to the Welch Neck. He re- 
turned in 1767 to the lower part of the Province, in the 
neighborhood of Charles-town, but having received a second 
call to the Welch Neck, came back and made a permanent 
settlement in this region. In 1769 he married a Miss 
Murphy. A son, the late Nicholas Bedgegood, of Marl- 
borough, was his only child. 

The Rev. Mr. Bedgegood was a good classical scholar,t 
and is said to have been an accomplished speaker. " Calm, 
however, and didactic, rather than impassioned in his style 
of preaching, his efforts were calculated to instruct rather 
than to move the feelings. But few were added to the 
church during his Ministry. ^^ J His death took place in 
1774, and on 1st February following, this entry was made 
on the records of the Welch Neck Church : " The Rev. Mr. 
Nicholas Bedgegood died near fifteen years after his first 
call to this place ; and almost seven years after his return, 
from which time he ministered here until his death. He 
was regarded a good scholar and a sound divine, an eloquent 
preacher, and a polite gentleman ; and well beloved by his 
acquaintance : yet, notwithstanding all his ability and 
endowments, he was never very successful, especially in the 
latter part of his life ; none being baptized after his return." 

* The following is a copy, as preserved by himself, of the original record of 
his baptism -. — 

" NiLholas, Son of Nicholas and Anne Bedgegood, Gent., Baptized Feby. y° 
22nd, 1731. 

" This is a true Copy of y'^ Eegister at Thornbury. 

"Ja*. Rtjtter, Curate. 

" Born January y<= 30th, 1731." 

f He owned a large and valuable library. A few volumes from this library, 
with a private journal of Mr. Bedgegood, were presented to the author some 
years since by the late Mrs. Catharine Billingsly, of Marlborough. 
^ Wood Furman's " History," pp. 75, 76. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD GHERAWS. 97 

To this statement it ought to be added, that from 1767 
to 1774, when Mr. Bedgegood finished his course, the 
spirit of the time and disturbed state of the country were 
most unfaA^ourable to general religious progress or the 
growth of any congregation. 

Not later than 1760, Martin Dewitt emigrated to the 
Pedee from Fredericksburgh, Virginia. He settled on the 
lower part of Black Creek, in what is now Darlington Dis- 
trict. He married Ellen Douthel. His sons, who came 
with him, were William, Harris, Thomas, and John. He 
took part in the Revolution, though advanced in years, and 
died in the place of his first settlement. William, the eldest 
son, married Mary, the daughter and only child of Daniel 
Devonald, one of the Welch settlers."^ Harris married 
Elizabeth, a daughter of Richard Brockington, and after- 
wards a Miss Pawley, and removed to the West at an early 
period. Thomas married and died early. John was the 
father of the late Martin Dewitt, of Darlington ; a man who 
maintained a most unblemished character through life. 

William Dewitt, afterwards well known as Cap°' Dewitt, 
settled in the upper part of the present district of Darling- 
ton. t His sons were John, Charles M., and Daniel, who 
died when a boy. John, the late Major Dewitt of Society 
Hill, married Nancy, daughter of Thomas Powe. Charles 
never married. He was a man of superior talents. The 
daughters of William Dewitt were Mary, who married 
Edward Edwards ; Sarah, who married a Mr. James, and 
subsequently Sam'' Ervin; Eleanor,J who married Allen 
Chapman ; Elizabeth, who married Sam'' Wilds, and after- 
wards Dr. Thomas Smith ; Margaret, who married Enoch 
Hanford, and Dorothea, who married Josiah J. Evans. 
Harriet, another daughter, died at an early age. Cap. 
Dewitt was a man of strongly marked character, and an 



* Her mother was long a widow, of good property for tliat day, and lived a 
sliort distance above the old Welch Neck Church, on the east side of the river. 

-|- On Cedar Creek, near the village of Society Hill, where the late Judge 
Evans resided. 

X This excellent lady, the last of her father's family, and almost of her own, 
died in 18G0. The writer was indebted to her tor much interesting in- 
formation. 

H 



98 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

active and devoted Whig. He survived his wife, and died 
about 1812. 

Another branch of the family came from Virginia about 
the same time, and settled lower down on the river, in what 
is now Marion District.* Thomas Dewitt, the father of this 
connexion, was probably a brother, or other near relative of 
Martin Dewitt, His sons were Thomas, William, and 
Charles. Charles married a Miss M'Call in 1771. The 
name is yet known in Marion. Many other settlers came 
about this time to Pedee. Among these was Elisha Parker. 
He purchased lands on the east side of the river, just below 
the State line. Here a public ferry was established soon 
after, known as Parker's Ferry. Elisha Parker died at an 
advanced age. His son, Stephen, who came with him, was 
a ship-builder, and before the Revolution built boats for the 
navigation of the river. Stepheu Parker accumulated a 
good property, and died about 1810. Some of his descen- 
dants are now living in Chesterfield District. 

Hewstiss was another name early known. Tliis family 
contributed its quota to the cause of liberty. Of the Tur- 
nages, who emigrated to what is now Chesterfield District, 
William served his country faithfully. He died at an ad- 
vanced age about 1823. A son, John Turnage, yet survives, a 
worthy citizen of Chesterfield. With the Turnages came the 
Ruthvens, some of whom are yet found in Chesterfield. 

The name of Sparks goes back to this period, on the 
Pedee. There were four brothers who came from Virginia, 
viz., Daniel, Charles, Samuel, and Harry. Of these, Charles 
and Samuel went to sea. Harry, a noted Whig, was killed 
by the Tories. Daniel, the eldest brother, settled first at 
what has long been known as the Beauty Sj)ot, in Marl- 
borough District. The family afterwards resided at the " Red 
BlufF,^^ in the Welch Neck. 

Daniel Sparks married Martha Pearce,t and had three 
sons — Alexander, Samuel, and Daniel. Alexander married 



* This place of settlement was called afterwards Dewitt's Bluff, and is 
still known by this name on the river. 

"I" This excellent and venerable lady died a few years since, near Society 
Hill, at a very advanced age. She retained her physical vigour and mental 
faculties to the last to a very remarkable degree. Her life was one of many 
trials, having embraced the stormy years of the Revolution. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 99 

Jeanette M'^Kearly; Samuel married Ann Hurry; and Daniel, 
a French lady in Louisiana. The daughters were — Martha, 
who died single ; Polly, who married John Crosland ; Lucy, 
who married Alexander Stubbs, and subsequently Thomas 
Stubbs ; and Sarah, who married William Pouucey. 

Daniel Sparks, the father, was a noted Captain of Militia in 
the Revolution, and rendered valuable service to his country. 

Edward Crosland, who was thrown upon his own resources 
as an orphan boy, came about the year 1760 from Virginia 
to Carolina. 

The tradition has been handed down in the family, that 
he joined a company of adventurers of about thirty persons, 
near the middle of the Province, some time before the Re- 
volution, for the purpose of exploring and hunting in the 
South- West. The company, it is said, went through North 
Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky, to the Ohio River, 
thence to the Mississippi ; and after exploring that stream to 
the mouth of the Missouri, retraced their steps, and descended 
the Mississippi to New Orleans. A part of the company re- 
turned, leaving their companions behind. 

After returning to North Carolina, Edward Crosland 
married a daughter of Samuel Sneed, of that State, and 
settled near the boundary line ; acting chiefly in South Ca- 
rolina during the Revolution. Subsequently, he removed to 
Santee, and after a few years, settled on the Pedee, near 
Gardiner's Bluff, in what is now Marlborough District, where 
he reared a large family. His sons were, John, Samuel, 
Daniel M., Israel, David, George, Philip, and William. His 
daughters were. Temperance, Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth, Re- 
becca, and Ann. Not a few of the descendants of this 
family are now numbered among the respected citizens of 
Marlborough. 

The Websters, Adams, and Fletchers, came about this 
time from Virginia and Maryland to Pedee. 

These families have extensive connexions in Marlborough. 
Emanuel Coxe settled lower down on the river. He reared 
a large family, from which many of the citizens of Marl- 
borough have descended. Several of this name were among 
the soldiers of the Revolution. William Coxe was parti- 
cularly noted. 

h2 



100 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Settlements were made about this time on Lynchers 
Creek; in what is now Chesterfield District. 

Among the first who came here, were Charles and George 
Evans, of the Welch stock on Pedee ; and John Blakeney. 
The latter came from Ireland, and established himself as a 
trader. He had two sons — William and John. William 
was the father of the late Gen' J. W. Blakeney of Ches- 
terfield ; and from these brothers, the large connexion in 
that District have descended. John Blakeney was an active 
Whig in the Revolution. His name appears in the records 
of St. David^s Parish. Lower down on Lynche's Creek, in 
what is now Darlington District, were the Huggins, Carters, 
and others, well known since in that region. This settle- 
ment extended from the Effingham Mills, a point of note in 
those days, towards the Fork of Lynchers Creek. 

The names of Cannon, Hunter, Williamson, Coker, and 
Pawley, appear here. They settled on Black Creek, in Dar- 
lington, and were active Whigs. 

Colonel George Pawley was prominent in the neighbour- 
hood of George-town at an earlier period. He is supposed 
to have removed subsequently higher up the river, having 
become the owner of lands on the east of the Pedee, above 
Mars Bluff. James Pawley was probably a son or colla- 
teral relative. He married Rebecca Brockington, and after- 
wards a Miss Hunter. Cusack was also a name of a still 
earlier settler, and destined to become sadly noted in the 
trials that awaited these infant settlements. Lower down 
on Jeffrey^s Creek, was Wm. McDowell. He emigi'ated 
from Ireland to North Carolina, and subsequently to this 
region, bringing a family with him.^ He was a stanch 
friend of his country, and suffered much from the Tories, 
who made frequent forays in this neighbourhood. Simon 
Council was one of his companions, and a name which ap- 
pears in favourable connexion with the struggles which 
shortly followed. He was killed by the Tories. 

On Cat Fish, in what is now Marion District, were the 



* Mary, a daughter of William McDowell, born in 1769, was surviving in 
1859, near Florence (Wilmington and Manchester R. R.). She married Wm. 
Britt soon after the Revolution. Her husband was in the battle of Guilford 
Court House. He died at an advanced age. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 101 

CheiTys. George Cherry was noted in the revolutionary 
struggle. 

Higher up were the Hodges, than whom few families 
gave a larger number of soldiers to the cause of 
liberty. The late Cap"^ Geo. Hodge/ of Marlborough, 
was the last connecting link with that generation. He 
married a daughter of George Cherry. Townsend was an- 
other family known at this period. The name of Light 
Townsend appears among the records of the Revolution. 
The family has become extensively connected in Marl- 
borough. William Forniss was advanced in years when the 
war began^ and an ardent Whig. The late venerable James 
Forniss, of Marlborough, was a lineal descendant. This family 
settled in the upper part of the Welch Neck, on the river. 
In the same neighbourhood were the Downes ;t and farther 
out, on Crooked Creek, were Samuel and Joseph Dabbs, the 
first of that name on Pedee. Joseph Dabbs married Han- 
nah Kolb. His devotion to liberty was sealed with his 
blood. His descendants are found now in Darlington. In 
the neighbourhood of Hunts Blufi*, on the east side of the 
river, were the Sweats, a worthy family, and devoted Whigs. 

Wm. Sweat, the father, was an old man when the 
Revolution began. His sons, James and Nathan, were 
young men at that time. This was probably a branch of 
the family which came with Gideon Gibson from Virginia. 

The Quicks, higher up the river, are worthy of mention 
among the early settlers of that region. They came from 
Bertie County, North Carolina, where the family resided in 
1742. J Thomas Quick was one of the brave Whigs of the 
Upper Pedee. 

* Captain Hodge was the maternal uncle of the late Judge Evans. 

f This name has long since disappeared. 

j The following is a copy of one of the relics of those days : — 
" North Carolina, At a Court begun and held for said County at the 
Bertie County. House of John CoUins, near Red Bird, on tuesday, the 

9th Day of Noveniher, Anno Dom' 1742 ; 

Present, His Majesty's Justices of the Peace &c. Personally came Thomas 
Quick of this County, and in open Court made oath on the Holy Evangelists, 
that his family consists of six persons ; — viz., Thomas Quick, Ruth Quick, Bertha 
Quick, Anne Quick, Willis Quick, & Rachel Quick : which is Ordered to be Certified. 

" Witness George Gould Esq', Chairman of the said Court at Bertie, the 
20th Day of November, Anno Dom', 1742. 

" Dated at the Clerk's Office the 20th " Geo. Gotrm. 

Day of November, Anno Dom', 1742. " Henet De la Claspee." 



102 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

In 1762, Evan Pugh emigrated to the Pedee. His an- 
cestors came from TTales to Peuusylyania, where he was 
boru. Thev were associated with the Quakers, and pro- 
bably constituted a part of the colony of William Penn. 
While he was yet a boy, his father removed to Winchester, 
Virginia. Upon arriving at manhood, !Mr. Pugh became a 
teacher, and acted in that capacity on the Yadkin River, 
Xorth Carolina. While there he became a Baptist. In 
1762 he pursued his studies at Long Bluff, and was ordained 
two yeai^s afterwards. 

Subsequently he removed to Cashway, and took charge 
of the ^Moimt Pleasant congregation in that neighbourhood. 
Mr. Pugh married Martha McGee. 

By this marriage he had two sons and a daughter. James, 
the elder son, was the father of the family in Darlington. 
Ezra, the younger son, died prematurely just after com- 
mencing life as a lawyer at George-town. Elizabeth, the 
daughter, married Hugh Lide, of Darlington, Of the life 
and character of Rev. Evan Pugh, account will be given 
hereafter. He died in 1802. 

About this time,. Dr. James P. Wilson came to Pedee, 
and settled at Long Bluff. He was a native of Buck^s County, 
Pennsylvania, and educated at Carlisle, in that State. 

He settled first as a physician at Winchester, Virginia, 
and remained there several years. During his residence at 
that place, he married Martha Jamison. 

His children were the late John F. Wilson, of Society 
Hill, who married Hannah Evans ; Mary, who married Ed- 
wai'd Burch ; and Martha, who maiTied John Sweeney. 
Dr. Wilson, for many years, had a large practice on the 
Pedee, and was surgeon in Marion^s Brigade. 

Virginia continued to furnish valuable elements to the 
growing population on the Pedee. Thomas Powe emigrated 
from that State about this period. He married a Miss 
Allen, of Virginia. His children were William, who mar- 
ried Harriet Pegnes; Erasmus, who mamed Esther Ellerbe; 
Mary, who married William Falconer ; Rachel, who married 
Allen Chapman ; Nancy, who mamed John Dewitt ; Alex- 
ander, who married Miss Spencer ; and Thomas, who mar- 
ried Martha Ellerbe. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 103 

Mr. Powe settled first on Cedar Creek, near the present 
village of Society Hill, and afterwards removed to the 
neighbourliood just above Cheraw Hill, where he lived and 
died. Thomas Powe was a magistrate of note after the 
E/Cvolution, and was an active and useful man on the 
Pedee. His second son, Gen^ Erasmus Powe, of Ches- 
terfield, was also a man of much excellence and useful- 
ness in his day. The widow of Thomas Powe married 
Calvin Spencer, whom she survived many years. 

The Godfreys were of English descent. This name ap- 
pears in the early history of Carolina. 

Richard Godfrey died some years before the Revolution, 
in the neighbourhood of Cheraw. He probably removed to 
that locality late in life. His sons were, WilKam, Wilson, 
Richard, and Thomas, aU of whom were old enough to take 
part in the struggle for liberty. William married a Miss 
Eritton, in what is now Marion district ; Richard, a ]\Iiss 
Davis ; Wilson also married, and died in Marion ; Richard 
lived on the river, at the place since known as Godfrey's 
Ferry. He was active in the Revolution. He held several 
public offices in INIarion, and died about 1821. 

Thomas lived in the neighbom-hood of Cheraw. He 
married Nancy, a daughter of Col. Geo. Hicks, from 
whom a large family descended, and of which account has 
been given. Thomas Godfrey was long connected with St. 
David^s parish. 

John Wilson emigrated from Maryland to Pedee when 
quite a young man. He settled on the east side of the 
river, opposite Cheraw, and entered upon a successful career 
as a planter. His first wife was a daughter of Col. 
Thomas Lide. The only surviving child of this marriage 
was the late Governor John Lide AVilson.^ The other 
children died young. Of Mr. Wilson's family by his 
second wife, Charlotte Hicks, account has been given. He 
was an active Whig, and prominently connected with St. 
Da\id's Parish. His death took place in January, 1823, 
Mrs. Wilson following him in August of the same year. 



* Governor Wilson married, first, Charlotte, a sister of Governor Joseph 
AUston. His second wife was a Miss Eden, of Philadelphia, a ward of Aiirou 
Burr. 



104 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Lemuel Benton emigrated from Granville County, Nortli 
Carolina, to Pedee. He settled in the neighbourhood of 
Major Kimbrough, and soon after married his daughter, 
an only child. The fruits of this marriage were four sons — 
John, Lemuel, Buckley, and Alfred. The daughters were, 
Clarissa, who married William L. Thomas; Charlotte, who 
married Laurence Prince ; Grilly, who married Isaiah Du 
Bose; and Elizabeth, who married George Bruce. Of the 
sons, John and Alfred died young. Lemuel came also to 
an untimely end. Buckley reared a family. The father, after- 
wards known as Colonel Benton, was a man of very strongly 
marked character, and will appear prominently hereafter. 

In 1766, the lands on which the present Town of Cheraw 
was built, were granted to Eli Kershaw. With a brother, 
Joseph, he set up a large trading establishment at this 
place. They removed, a few years afterward, to Camden, 
where the name has been well known since. 

William Henry Mills, an Englishman, came, about this 
time, to Pedee, and settled in the neighbourhood of Long 
Bluff. He was a physician, and a well-educated man, and 
for a time a prominent citizen. 

John Manderson lived in the lower part of what is now 
Chesterfield District, and was a man of large means. He 
left soon after this period. 

About this time came Samuel Wise. He emigrated from 
England to Charles-town, where he was residing as a mer- 
chant in 1766. A year or two after, he settled on the 
Pedee, on the east side of the river, a short distance below 
the State line. Mrs. Wise, who came with him, was a 
woman of marked traits. Their only child, a daughter, 
married Joseph Ball, from the lower part of Carolina. 
Samuel Wise was a man of high character, and took a pro- 
minent place in the public service. He removed, during the 
Revolution, to the Wateree, where he owned a valuable pro- 
perty. His career ended during the war. 

Henry William Harrington emigrated from England to 
the West Indies. After remaining a short time at Jamaica, 
he came to South Carolina, and settled on the Pedee. He 
took up his residence first on the river, opposite Cheraw 
Hill, but soon after went down to the Welch Neck. While 



HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 105 

living there, he married Rosanna, daughter of Major James 
Auld, of Anson County, North Carolina. The fruits of 
this mari'iage were, Rosanna, who married Robert Troy ; 
Henry William ;* James Auld, who married Eleanor Wilson ; 
and Harriet, who married Belah Strong. In 1776, Mr. 
Harrington removed to Richmond County, North Carolina, 
where he continued to reside through life. Of his name 
frequent mention will be made in connexion with his emi- 
nent public service, and devotion to his country. f 

Arthur Hart, a relative of General Harrington, emigrated, 
about the same time with the former, from England. He 
settled first in Virginia, and there married, remaining, how- 
ever, but a short time. From Virginia he came to Pedee, 
and settled on lands on the east side of the river, in the 
neighbourhood of the Welch Neck. His second wife was 
Elizabeth, a daughter of Rev. Robert Williams. This mar- 
riage took place in 1771. His third wife was Miss Irby, a 
sister of Colonel Charles Irby. The fruits of this marriage 
were three children, James, Mary, and Sarah. 

James Hart married Sarah Edwards, of whom were born 
two sons, James and Thomas Mary, the eldest daughter, 
married Richard Brockington. Sarah married Nicholas 
Rogers. James Hart died in 1797. 

Arthur Hart was a man of good property and high re- 
spectability. He was an ardent Whig, but died before the 
thickest of the strife, in 1777-1 

Samuel Bacot came to the neighbourhood of what is now 
Darlington District in 1769. His grandfather, Pierre Bacot, 
was a native of Rochelle, France, from whence he fled, with 
other Huguenots, in 1694, to Charles-town. Samuel Bacot 
married a Miss Allston, and with her brother, Peter Allston, 
came to the Pedee, settling himself on Black Creek, not far 



* To Colonel H. W. Harrington, of Richmond County, the author is indebted 
for much interesting traditional matter, and for valuable manuscripts iu con- 
nexion with the family and the Revolutionary era. 

f The larger part of the private journal and other papers of General Har- 
rington were unfortunately destroyed by the Tories in one of their plundering 
forays to the neighbourhood of his residence. A few manuscripts of interest 
were preserved. 

X Arthur Hart owned the site of the factory near Society Hill, and was 
residing there at the time of his death. 



106 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

from the present village of Darlington. Mr. Allston soon 
removed to Waccamaw Lake,, North Carolina. 

Samuel Bacot was a man of energy, a useful citizen, and 
ardent patriot. The late Samuel Bacot and Cyrus Bacot, 
of Darlington, were his sons. 

William and Calvin Spencer emigrated from Connecticut 
to the Pedee a few years before the Revolution. William 
settled in Anson County, North Carolina, and rose to dis- 
tinction in that State. 

Calvin Spencer was an active Whig and useful man. 
Chesterfield was his permanent residence. 

About the year 1770, the name of Charles Augustus 
Steward, appeared on the Pedee. He married* a daughter of 
George Gabriell Powell, a name destined to become pro- 
minently connected with the early history of the Pedee. 
Captain Steward removed to the neighbourhoodt of Cheraw, 
where he became a prominent character, and continued to 
reside. 

John Mitchell was another name familiar at this period. 
He was a successful trader at Meldrum,J near Cheraw, but 
left soon after, and the name disappeared with him. His 
sympathies were not with his adopted country, and the dif- 
ficulty growing out of this fact led to his removal. 

The tide of emigration was stopped by the troublous 
times immediately preceding the Revolution, and the trials 
of that struggle. Additions were made to the population 
on the Pedee after the establishment of peace, of which 
some account will be given. 

The history of oiu* settlements has been brought down 



* This announcement appeared in the Caze^^e, Charles-town, June 27, 1769: — 
" On the 15th inst., was married, Charles Augustus Steward, Esq., tirst Captain 
in his Majesty's 21st Regiment, to Miss Sally Powell, Daughter of George 
Gabriell Powell, Esq., of Prijice George Parish." 

■f This was the plantation immediately below the town of Cheraw, and called 
Fairy Hill. 

t Of the locality of Meldrum, mentioned in the papers of the day as being 
" near the Cheraws," the author, after every effort, has been unable to obtain 
any information whatever. 

Mr. Mitchell is known to have owned lands and a plantation on Thompson's 
Creek. Meldrum was probably in this neighbourhood, and the name given to 
his place of residence. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 107 

through a period of about thirty-five years, during which, 
with very varied and valuable elements, were laid the foun- 
dations of future growth and progress. The reader will 
now be carried back to take a survey of other matters of 
interest connected with this stage in the history of the 
Pedee. 



108 HKSIOKY OF TllK 0M> CUKIJAWS. 



(MIATTKU M 

Crtuoaainn nxiv ^nvijrosslvo — Vsiviovl olouionts of poinilution on I'otloo— .\ii»;1o- 
Jjisixoiv pnnlownnawt — First wunts ot" sottloi-s — StiH'k raisini;' — Wild 
Sttvk- -Kii-st \\\!\rkots — -How ivuohod— Othor urtiolos oxportod — I'nHlviots 
of tl\o soil — ln>liii\> — Its oiiltmv niul history — Trsulioij ost:»Misl\(\uM»ts - 
Kaviij-utivMi ^if tlio rivor — lu^uls suul oavlv tvnvoysuuvs — K>vul ilist riots 
ostj»Misl(iHl l^\Wio lorry uml its rojjulatious — First grants of land — Kosor- 
vutions !U\d ta\os — lV>i;ross of tho lVniniv--Ot' tliis portion t^f it — lu- 
oivaso ot' sl;vvos — First sottlon\onts — Whoro tnsvdo - Pisoasos — l.oi\ir HlnlV — 
Its history — Choraw Uill — Its sottloiuont — Flantoi-s" Olnb Militia of 
Oravon l^'v^nnty — .lusti>vs of Foaot> — Sivial lit\' — Uoligious oloniont on IVloo 
•^l?i\^\vth of spirit of inilopo»\doiKH<^ — Oausos qjt" it — Foolin^j towartls Karl of 
Ohrtthuin by tho ivlonios — Mis statuo — OKI \nt\lal — Its histv^ry — A Faiwhittl 
itrgAuiiMUon at hand IMio dawn of a hriijhtor day tor tho 1\hIiv. 

TtiK hist Of} o( tlio C\uii';\sian or uhito fuoo has boon oiio of 
^>voj;foss. 

liilikootluM' anoioitt ami poptiloiis ilivisioiis of tho family 
ol' man. \>hioh havo i\o\or ailvanooil hovoml a oortaiii point 
oi' iniin'ovomotit. not always ivitiainiiii;- at that. thiv< has 
uovor i.\Mitii\iiod statiiHiary. 

Mtioli of oonrso liopoiids on tlto poonliav iMinbination oi' 
tho ohMnonts o( whioh tho whito raoo is ooniposod — loading 
oithor to a gvnoral ilotorioi-ation. ov to a pooplo. in thoir 
divei"sity singularly tit toil to advanoo in ovofv dopavtinont 
of human pi\\oivss. Siu'h is tho .Vuglo-Saxon, whioh has 
boon most romarkablo in its dovolopmonts. and is dostiiunl 
to till so largi^ and oommanding a plaoo in tho lattor stages 
o( tho world's history. 

In tho tirst sottlomonts on tho IVdoo. oxtonding through 
about ono-third of a oontuiy . various typos o( raoo aiid oha- 
raotor woro roprosotitod. Krauoo. F.nghiud. AValos. Irolaud, 
Sootland. liornumy. ami tho moro northorn proviuoos of 
Amorioa, whoso iivhabitauts had boon ohioHy drawn tnnu 
tho sattu' soiuvos, all amtributod ii\ thoir ujoasim^ — tho 
Welch elemout pivi^uderaiiug in the central kvality, and 



IIIBTOIiy OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 109 

(Icstiricdj UH will he; found, to ^\vv, character to the commu- 
niticH around it. 

With our (larly Hcttlcrn th(T(5 was every stlmuluH to exer- 
tion. Their f'ortuneH were yet to Le built up, hut little 
rri(;ans, for the rno.st part, havinf^ Ijeen hrouf^ht with them. 
They found in the fertile lands to which th(;y came, with 
rich pasturage ami luxuriant forests, all that nature could 
j)rovi(lc for the Hupply of their first necessities, and on the 
bosom of the river was presented an outlet f(jr their multi- 
plying ])r(jductions, as well as a channel of conveyance for 
njinistering in turn to their increasing wants. Attention 
was first to be turned to their immediate necessities, and to 
the means of intercorrununication with each other, and 
facilities for trade. Lands were to be cleared, enclosures 
made, and the soil developed. Already premiums liad been 
offered by (lovcrnmcnt to encourage the cultivation of cer- 
tain crojjs, and a ready market on the ccjast awaited their 
superabundant stores. Some of those who came from the 
more northern provinces drove their horses, cattle, and 
hogs, over land with them.* 

Large numbers of wild horses and cattle in addition 
were f(jun(l by the first settlers in the woods of Carolina. 
Many were caught and domesticated, and stock-raising at 
once bef;ame a jirolifie source of wealth. Most of the early 
fortunes on the Pedee were maxle in this way. Energy, 
ratlier than capital, was required in the first instance, and 
but little labour dem.'indcd afterward. Everywhere in those 
days, on the hills and in the valleys, the best ranges were 
found, and it was only necessary to drive the stock from 
place to j)lace in search of fresh pasturage, as the supply 
became exhausted. The numbers owned by single indivi- 
duals, and thus driven about, were very large, almost 
incredibly so to those accustomed to the condition of 
things in this respect now existing in the older States. It 
was in this kind of life, habituated to the use of the saddle 
in th(; woods for days and weeks together, often in the dan- 
gerous adventures of the chase, that our early settlers 
became such expert horsemen, and so inured to expo- 



* IlainHajr'8 " Hiatory of So. Ca,," vol. ii. p. 274. 



110 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

sure and hardship as to meet successfully the extraordinary 
demands of that protracted struggle which was soon to 
overtake them. 

The wild stock was captured by the simple contrivance 
of a large and well-secured pen in the fork of two branches, 
or larger streams, into which the frightened and over- 
powered animal was driven. In some cases, where the 
branches were boggy, and could not be entered, a fence 
was built across, some distance above the point of junction, 
and this was the only enclosure required. Some of our 
smaller streams are yet found to retain the name, " horse- 
pen," indicating that they were made to subserve the pm'- 
pose mentioned. The stock was driven to Charles-town 
and other places on the coast, as well as to more distant 
markets. Large numbers of cattle were sent from Pedee 
to Philadelphia.^ 

Pork soon became a valuable article of export. In the 
course of time, " Cheraw bacon " was destined to be famous 
in distant parts of the country. Lumber was also sent off 
in large quantities, saw-mills having been erected at different 
points soon after the first settlements. f 

The " Effingham Mills," in what is now Darlington 
District, are mentioned early, as well as others more imme- 
diately contiguous to the river.J 

* It is related of Malachi Murphy, who drove many beeves annually to 
Philadelphia, that on one occasion was a famous beast, called " Blaze Face," of 
great size and unusual sagacity, which he sold in Philadelphia. 

On the night of his return home to Pedee, and soon after his arrival, he heard 
the low of Blaze Face. He had escaped and followed close upon the ti'ack of 
his owner, swimming rivers and distancing all pursuers. Mr. Murphy drove him 
a second time to Philadelphia, and again he returned. Such a spirit was worthy 
of a better fate, but did not shield the bold rover. He was taken a third time 
to Philadelphia, and came back no more. This was related to the author by the 
late John D. Withirspoon, of Society Hill. 

+ The prices of some leading articles of trade in Charles-town at this 
period will give some idea of the remuneration received by the settlers : — 
(From Gazette of the day.) Nov. 1, 1739. 
Rice, 32s. to 33s. Qd. per cwt. Pitch, 40s. per cwt. 

Turpentine, 20s. per cwt. Tar, 30s. per cwt. Skins, 18s. to 19s. per cwt. 

Indian corn, 7s. Gd. to 10s. per cwt. 
July 16, 1741. 
Rice, 3^. per cwt. Skins, 16s. Gd. per lb. Pitch, 55s. per barrel. 

Tar, 45s. per barrel. Indian corn, 30s. per bushel. 

Turpentine, 22s. Qd. per bushel. Indian Peas, 30s. per bushel. 

X The following notices, which appeared in the Gazette, Charles-town, a 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. Ill 

Hemp and flax did not prove to be such profitable crops 
as the Welch at first anticipated, and were not much raised. 
Neither the soil nor climate were well adapted to their pro- 
duction. For hemp, particularly, very rich land, of a 
peculiar quality, was required. Wheat and corn were 
found more valuable, especially the latter. Indigo, how- 
ever, proved to be the most lucrative crop. The rich lands 
on the river were admirably adapted to its production, more 
so than those in the lower parts of the Province near the 
coast. 

" About the year 1745," we are informed, " the fortu- 
nate discovery was made that this plant (indigo) grew spon- 
taneously in the Province, and was found almost everywhere 
among the wild weeds of the forest." 

As the soil naturally yielded a weed which furnished the 
world with so useful and valuable a dye, it loudly called for 
cultivation and improvement. 

For this purpose, some indigo seed was imported from 
the French West Indies, where it had been cultivated with 
great success, and yielded the planters immense profit. At 
first the seed was planted by way of experiment, and it was 
found to answer the most sanguine expectations. In conse- 
quence of which, several planters turned their attention to 
its culture, and studied the art of extracting the dye from 
it. Every trial brought them fresh encouragement. In the 
year 1747, a considerable quantity of it was sent to Eng- 



few years after, will give some idea of the progress which had been made in 
this department of industrial enterprise : — 

" Notice by John Manderson. 
" To be sold at Private Sale, the Subscriber's three saw-mills and grist mill 
on Big and Little Cedar Creek, 60,000 feet lumber hav^ been carried by 
2 hands on one raft to George-town — most populous part Cheraws District — 
15 hands of the Chickasaw and English breed. 

« Sept. Wth, 1777." 

" May 6th, 1778. Valuable Saw and Grist Mills on Juniper Creek, 4 miles 
below Cheraw Hill, with a bolting mill — also a bolting mill, distance 2 or 3 
miles to Cheraw, where the Clmrch is. 

" Timber may be rafted from pier head of lowest mill in small Kafts to the 
River, it being not more than 4 miles from the mill to the River down the 
Creek, and 3 by land, — where the rafts are joined to carry down to George- 
town, and has generally been done in Rafts containing from 30 to 40,000 feet 
in 5 days, the distance from George-town by land is 90 miles,— by Jacob 
Valk, Charles-Town." 



112 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

land, whidi induced the merchants trading to Carolina to 
petition Parliament for a bounty on Carolina indigo. This 
petition from the merchants was followed by another from the 
planters and inhabitants of Carolina. Accordingly an Act 
of Parliament was passed, about the beginning of the year 
1748, for allowing a bounty of sixpence per pound on all 
indigo raised in the British American plantations, and im- 
ported directly into Britain from the place of its growth."^ 
It was sent by our farmers to Charles-town, and sometimes 
to London,t and occasionally to markets in the neighbouring 
colonies. The amount of indigo exported from South Ca- 
rolina, in 1754, was 216,924 pounds. J 

Fortunes were made rapidly by its cultivation. § It 
brought at one time from four to five dollars per pound. 
Traces of the old indigo vats are to be seen here and there 
on the Pedee. Its cultivation ceased about the close of the 
century, or soon after. 

Higher up the river, in North Carolina, it was followed 
by tobacco, which became the principal export, and, for a 
time, the chief circulating medium. || 

Some of the first settlers established themselves as 
traders, chiefly on the river. Cheraw Hill, Long Blufi:, and 
Hunt^s Blujff were points of note for trade. The navigation 
of the river commenced with the arrival of the colonists, as 
at Sandy Bluff, who are said to have come up in boats. As 
early as 1740, the navigation was open from Cheraw down. 
There were serious obstructions, however, which became the 
subject of legislation in after years, and with the aid of 
individual energy and enterprise, were gradually removed. 
The sul)ject of roads, bridges, and ferries claimed the early 

* Rainsay's " History S. C." vol. ii. pp. 138, 139. 

f The account sales of one cask indigo shipped to London from the Pedee 
in 1766, shows that it commanded 2s. 3d. per pound, amounting to 371, 4*. 3d. 
The bounty on it was 3/. 12*. id. The total expense of the shipment from 
Charles-town was 31. ds. 4d. 

J Ramsay's " History," p. 191. 

§ As an illustration of the value of the crop, it may be mentioned that 
General Harrington sent three four-horse waggon loads to Virginia, and with 
the proceeds of the sale bought from fifteen to twenty negroes. 

II Where it was raised above the head of navigation on the river, tobacco was 
carried off to market in hogsheads, weighing fi-om 1000 to 1400 lbs. The hogs- 
heads were strongly hooped, and with an axle and felloes of pine to prevent the 
middle from being injured, drawn by two horses. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 113 

attention of the settlers. Highways were to be established 
for travel and transportation. The first roads, rough cor- 
duroys, were just wide enough to admit the passage of a 
kind of vehicle common then, called a sled. It was of 
simple construction, but indispensable at that early day, 
when something better was not to be had. It required but 
two side pieces of oak, with the ends turned up in front, 
and confined together, about four feet apart, by cross pieces 
securely tenanted into them. Thus, rough-hewn and expedi- 
tiously put together, this simple conveyance was ready for use. 
With it, rails were hauled for fencing, wood for fuel, and 
logs and other materials for cabins. By the addition of a 
box for a body, the corn and other products of the field were 
carried to the barn, and families often to places of gather- 
ing. But these could not long continue to supply the 
growing demands of an advancing population. Better roads 
and better conveyances were to be provided. Accordingly, 
in 1747, we find the first effort made in this direction.* An 
Act was passed in that year by the Commons House of 
Assembly, of which the preamble was in these words : — 
" Whereas the Upper Settlements on Pedee, Waccamaw, 
and Black Bivers are very extensive and remote from each 
other, by reason whereof it will be convenient to divide the 
same into several districts, under several sets of Commis- 
sioners, to the end that the making and repairing of high- 
ways and causeways in those parts may be better attended 
to and performed," &c. 

It was accordingly enacted, " That the Parts situate upon 
or near to Pedee, Waccamaw, and Black Bivers,'" should be 
divided into five districts. Of these, the third district was 
to embrace the settlements on the eastern side of Great 
Pedee River, extending from the Province line south-east- 
ward to Cat Fish Creek ; and William Colt, William James, 
Abraham Col son, Malachi Murphy, and Jacob Buckholt, 
were appointed Commissioners of Highways for the said 
district. The fourth district embraced the lands " situate 
on the south-west side of Great Pedee River, from Lynchers 
Creek south-westward to the bounds of the Province ; and 



* " statutes at Large of So. Ca.," vol. ix. p. 144. 



114 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

James Gillespie^ Prancis Young, Jolin Dexter, Samuel De 
Sorrency, and Thomas Elleby, were appointed Commis- 
sioners/^ 

By the same Act, the Commissioners were directed to 
meet at such places in their respective districts as the 
majority should appoint, twice a year — viz., on Easter 
Monday and the first Monday in August, for the despatch 
of business. 

They were to establish ferries as well as highways. For 
some years after this, no further legislation was needed. It 
was not until 1768 that another Act was passed, establish- 
ing a public ferry '' at the lands of James James, in the 
Welch Tract, on the South East side of Great Pedee River, 
in the Parish of Prince George, opposite to Cedar Creek, 
which is on the South "West side of the said river, in the^ 
Parish of St. Mark, on the lands of the said James James, 
and to land on either side of the said creek ;" " the said 
ferry to be vested in the said James James, his heirs, &c., for 
the term of fourteen years.^^ The rates of ferriage were : 
" For every single person, one shilling and three pence ; for 
a horse and chair, or a horse and cart, five shillings ; for a 
four wheel carriage, with five horses, twenty shillings ; for 
neat cattle, ferried or swum, seven pence half penny in the 
current money of the Province.^' 

" All Ministers of the Gospel, all persons going to and 
from Church Service, and muster of Militia, and all persons 
in time of alarm, and all Expresses or Messengers sent in 
the service of the Government, and free Indians in amity 
with the Government,^^ were to be free from toll. 

" Abel Wilds, David Evans, James James, Alexander 
Mackintosh, John Kimbrough, Thomas Evans, George 
Hicks, Thomas James, and John Mackintosh, were ap- 
pointed Commissioners for laying out, making and keeping 
in repair, a road from the North-east side of the above- 
mentioned ferry, to lead down the country into the public 
road ; and likewise a road to lead from the upper side of 
the above-mentioned creek; and also a road to lead from 
the lower side of the above-mentioned creek, into the public 
road which leads down the country .^^ 

This was the second Act passed on the subject of roads 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 115 

and ferries for this part of the Province, and no other ap- 
pears for sixteen years following. 

Some of the earlier land grants contained several curious 
privileges^ reservations, and conditions. 

In a grant of land in the Welch Tract, dated 1750, after 
the usual form, &c., it is added ; " together with privilege 
of hunting. Hawking, and Fowling, in and upon the same, 
and all Mines and Minerals whatsoever ; Saving and Reserv- 
ing, nevertheless, to us, our Heirs and Successors, all white 
Pine Trees, if any there should be found gi'owing thereon : 
and also Saving and^Reserviug to us, our Heirsand Successors, 
one-tenth part of Mines of Silver and Gold only." Also it 
was provided, that the grantees " should clear and cultivate at 
the rate of one acre for every Five Hundred Acres of Land, and 
so in proportion according to the quantity of Acres contained 
therein ; or, build a Dwelling House thereon, and keep a stock 
of Five Head of Cattle for every Five Hundred Acres, upon the 
same, and in Proportion for a greater or lesser quantity." 

It was also provided, that " on every Twenty Fifth Day of 
March, the said Grantee, his Heirs, &c., should pay to the 
Receiver- General of the Pro\ance, or to his Deputy, or 
Deputies, for the time being, at the Rate of Three Shillings 
Sterling, or Four Shillings Proclamation Money, for every 
Hundred Acres, fcc." 

This was one of the tokens and acknowledgments of a 
subjection under which the Colonists had even now become 
restive. As a source of revenue to the Crown"^ simply, it 
was less objectionable. 

" Few countries," it is said, " have at any time exhibited so 
striking an instance of public and private prosperity as ap- 
peared in South Carolina between the years 1763 and 1775. 
The inhabitants of the Province were in that short space of 

* The following is a specimen of the payment, by way of crown tax, thus 
required : — 

" South CaroUna. 

" Received, the Thirteenth Day of August, in the year 
of our Lord one Thousand seven Hundred and Sixty four, of Philip Pledger 
and Jesse Councill, the sum of Ten pounds, sixteen shilhugs. Proclamation money ; 
being for Eighteen years quit-rent due to the Crown, the Twenty Fifth Day of 
March last, for Three hundred Acres of Laud held by them, and situated in 
Craven County. I say, received for the use of his Majesty, by 

" Alex. Mackintosh, 
" £10 16s. Od." " Deputy Receiver. 



116 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

time more than doubled. Wealth poured in upon them 
from a thousand channels. The fertility of the soil gene- 
rally repaid the labour of the husbandman, making the poor 
to sing, and industry to smile through every corner of the 
land. None were indigent but the idle and ucfortunate. 
Personal independence was fully within the reach of every 
man who was healthy and industrious. The inhabitants, at 
peace with all the world, enjoyed domestic tranquillity, and 
were secure in their persons and property. They were also 
completely satisfied with their Government, and wished not 
for the smallest change in their political constitution.^^* 
This glowing account of the general condition of the Pro- 
vince was literally true of the upper parts of the Pedee. 
Nowhere else were the leading elements of prosperity 
more vigorously operative. As an illustration of the pro- 
gress made by the settlers in these parts in manufactures, 
the following extract will suffice. It appeared in the 
Gazette, Charles-town, Dec. 32, 1768. 

"A gentleman of St. David's Parish, in this Province, 
writes to his correspondent in Charles-town : ' I expect to 
see our own manufactures much promoted in this part of 
the Province. I send you some samples of what hath been 
already done upon this River and in this Parish. The 
sample of white cotton was made in the proportion of 
twelve yards to one pound of cotton. Hemp, Flax, and 
Cotton may be raised here in any quantity ; as to wool, one 
cannot have much of it.' " 

To this, the Editor of the Gazette added : — " The num- 
ber of samples mentioned above is eleven, which the curious 
may have an opportunity of seeing, by enquiring of any 
one of the young men, at the Great Stationery and Book 
Shop." Where, or by whom, these samples were produced, 
is not known. Cotton was not much cultivated for many 
years after this. Another notice appeared in the Gazette 
of March 2, 1769, to this effect : — " Many of the Inhabitants 
of the North and Eastern Parts of this Province have this 
winter clothed themselves in their own manufactures ; many 
more would purchase them if they could be got, &c." 



* Ramsay's " History Revolution in So. Ca.," vol. i. p. 7. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 117 

One of the drawbacks experienced, was in the droughts 
which sometimes prevailed for months together, and with 
great severity. This was the case in 1752, and again in 
1769, as was stated in the Gazette of July 5th of that 
year, viz. : — " That there was a great drought in the Pro- 
vince, and to the North-Eastward, as far as Virginia — none 
such having been known since that of 1752. Drivers of cattle 
to Charles-town have to dig fifteen feet for water." Mention 
has been made of the increasing number of slaves. This 
began to be the case almost immediately after the first 
settlements. The prices paid about this time indicate the 
extent of the demand. In 1762, a woman, with two chil- 
dren, a girl and boy, sold for 477 pounds current money. 
In the following year, the same prices were given. Some 
of the first settlers brought their slaves with them. The 
labour of the negro was found to be indispensable on the 
river low-lands to which the first clearings for a time were 
almost exclusively confined. The first settlements were for 
the most part made immediately on the banks of the river, 
at elevated points, where good springs of water were to be 
found. Such a position experience has proved to be 
healthier than the intermediate swamps between the river 
and the high land, or even than the latter, when contiguous 
to the swamps. At first the emigrant from more northern 
latitudes, or healthier climes, did not experience any serious 
effects from a residence in the miasmatic regions of the 
south. It was only after the clearings began, that diseases 
appeared, except the fever and ague, which were known from 
the first. This, however, was more troublesome and enervat- 
ing than dangerous. When openings were made, and the 
rich alluvial soils and stagnant waters became exposed to 
the sun, the inhabitants began to suffer more severely from 
bilious and other more fatal forms of fever. The planters 
were consequently driven from their swamp homes to 
healthier localities. 

In addition to all this, it is a well-established fact in the 
history of the diseases incident to rich alluvial bottoms, that 
a season marked by certain atmospherical changes, or other 
unusual atmospheric phenomena, may give rise to types of 
fever of the most malignant character. During the months 



118 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

of June, July, and August, 1752, the heat in Carolina is 
said to have been oppressive to a degree never felt before.'^ 
Such seasons, doubtless, had much to do, when recurring, 
with changes of residence. The removal of the planters from 
the east side of the river in the Welch Neck formed the germ 
of a settlement at the Long Blufff on the west, in what is 
now the District of Darlington, As early as 20th Dec., 
1748, Saml. Wilds, who had settled a little below on the 
opposite side of the river, petitioned Council " for 100 acres 
of land across Pedee, stating he was a settler in the Welch 
Tract, on lands he purchased about five years ago, which is 
low and often overflowed — that there was a Plot of vacant 
land opposite his across the River Pedee, which was high 
land, and which, for the health of his family, he desired to 
settle." His petition was granted. The land here referred 
to is situated a little below the Long Bluff. To this period 
we may refer the beginning of the community at the latter 
point, which continued to increase, with accessions to its 
population from other quarters. In a few years it became 
a place of some importance. It had the advantage of being 
central and accessible. It was immediately on the river, 
and though exposed to the miasma from the extensive swamp 
across, continued for many years to be comparatively 
healthy. The public highway leading from Cheraw Hill to 
George-tow^n passed near it. J 

The settlement at Cheraw Hill also continued to advance 
for the like reasons in part, but chiefly because of its note 
as a point for trade. Being at the head of na^dgation on 
the river, with an extensive and fertile country to be de- 
veloped, and mainly dependant on it for supplies, its location 
was peculiarly advantageous. The land on which the town 
is built was granted to Eli Kershaw in 1766. 

About the same time it was laid out by the Kershaw8,§ 



* "Ramsay," ii. p. 179. 

f So called from its being one of the longest bluffs on the river, extending 
without break for about three miles. 

X The Cheraw and Darlington R. R. runs for a short distance along this old 
track, from a point opposite Long Bluff, up. 

§ The following notice, which appeared in the Gazette, Charles-town, shows 
that the Kershaws left a few years after this : — 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 119 

Eli and Josepli, with others. It was a few years after, proba- 
bly in 1775 for the first time^ called Chatham, in honour of 
the first Earl of that name, which it bore until its incorpo- 
ration long afterward. It did not advance much 'in growth, 
but few families being attracted to it as a place of residence. 
As late as 1792 it is said to have contained not more than 
a dozen dwelling-houses. 

Among other signs of progress was the formation, as 
early at least as 1768, of the "Planter's Club," or '' Society,'' 
as it was otherwise called. It was often alluded to in a 
private journal of the time, and is supposed to have em- 
braced the principal planters on the river above the Welch 
Neck. 

It was probably formed for social purposes chiefly, after 
the manner of the " Clubs" which had been in existence 
before, and were then so well-known in the lower parts of 
the Province. Committees were appointed for the transac- 
tion of business, and meetings frequently held. On one 
occasion — an anniversary, perhaps — a sermon was preached 
before it by the Rev. Nicholas Bedgegood. It continued in 
existence until the Revolution. 

Not much attention had yet been paid to military mat- 
ters in the interior of the Province. A small banding 
together of neighbourhoods against the Indians, appears to 
have been all that was demanded. George Pawley was 
Colonel of the Craven County Regiment in 1744. Soon 
after this militia companies were formed in the upper parts 
of the Pedee. Philip Pledger was commissioned Captain 

« Sale. 
" 1774. On Wednesday, the 16th day of Nov. next, and the following days, 
at the Court House, at Long Bluff, will be sold, 

" That valuable Plantation, called Liberty Hill, and all their other Lands, at 
and near Cheraw Hill, on Pedee River, together with their Store Houses, Mills, 
remaining stock of store goods, and about fifty valuable negroes, employed in 
carrying on their business at Chatham, under the firm of Eli Kershaw and Co. 
The whole being to be sold in order to make a final settlement of the copartner- 
ship which lately subsisted between the subscribers. Twelve months credit will 
be given, if required, upon all sums above one hundred pounds, on paying in- 
terest from the day of sale, giving such security as shall be approved of by 

" Joseph Keksuaw, 
" John Chesnut, 
" Eli Keeshaw, 
•' William Anckum, 
" Aabon Loooock." 



120 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

in his Majesty's Service in 1756. George Hicks and 
Thomas Loycl were Captains in 1762, and Alexander Mack- 
intosh in 1765. In January 1748 the Craven County 
Regiment consisted of 1200 men. The first General 
Militia Review for the upper Pedee was ordered in 1759 by 
George Pawley, Adj*' Gen^', beginning with George-town, 
Oct. 4th ; Mars Bluff, Oct. 11th, and AVestfield on Pedee* 
Saturday, October 15th. The only military organization in 
the Province prior to this time, and going back as far as 
1703, consisted of companies, battalions, and regiments. 
The Act of 1747, which was continued by Act of 1753 for 
two years, and revived and continued by Act of 1759, pro- 
vided for the calling and assembling of all persons from six- 
teen to sixty years of age, and to be formed into companies, 
troops, and regiments. It was not until 1778 that brigades 
were established. 

The earliest list of Justices of the Peace, embracing the 
upper part of Craven County, appeared in 1756, when George 
Hicks and Abraham Buckholts were appointed. In 1761 
Alexander Mackintosh Avas added, and in 1767 Claudius 
Pegnes. 

A generous hospitality and unrestrained social intercourse 
were strikingly characteristic of this period. The sparse- 
ness of the poj3ulation and the few public occasions which 
there were to bring the people together, made our early 
settlers more dependent on each other for whatever of 
pleasure and excitement social intercourse could afford. 
Hence, every house was open. A cordial greeting awaited 
the visitor. He might prolong his stay without danger of 
becoming an annoyance. A social bore was scarcely known. 
The news, from whatever quarter, when it reached the 
settlements, was thoroughly discussed and well digested. As 
we look back upon them from a more conventional age, we 
are temj)ted to exclaim, Happy were the days of which 
so much in this respect could be said. It was fortunate 
for the healthy progress of the settlements on the Pedee, that 
in the central and most important of them all, the religious 
element so largely prevailed. 



* This was near Cheraw Hill. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 121 

There the simple and unobtrusive, yet sturdy and manly 
■virtues which the Welch Christians brought Avith them, 
were found in active operation. How much, in the end, 
other neighbouring communities were indebted to their 
salutary influence, it would be difficidt to estimate. 

That they continued to operate, and to form a public 
sentiment of a sound and elevated character, there is abun- 
dant evidence. And in this, as in the virtuous influence 
brought to bear upon the mingled elements of population 
from whatever sources entering in, was found the germ of 
that steady intellectaal and moral advancement, of which 
the happiest indications afterward appeared. 

Even the troublous times of the Revolution could not 
altogether repress this spirit, as will be found in tracing 
the subsequent marks of its progress. 

Another feeliug, however, was now beginning to take 
possession of the hitherto peaceful dwellers on the Pedee. 
Attached as the people of the Province had ever been to 
the Crown, they still rejoiced in their connexion with the 
Mother Country, and in being subjects of the same king. 

Up to this time there had been no special cause, except 
the want of courts of their own, for dissatisfaction with the 
Royal Government on the part of the people of Carolina, as 
was the case in some other of the colonies. Though essential 
changes had been made in the commercial system of the 
colonies for preventing a contraband trade with the French 
and Spaniards, and for enlarging the powers of the Courts 
of Admiralty, creating great uneasiness in some parts of 
the continent ; the Carolinas, whose commerce was carried 
on agreeably to the British laws of trade and navigation, 
were very little affected by these innovations. Until the 
accession of George III., Great Britain, in time of war, 
had been in the habit of making requisitions for supplies to 
the Provincial Assemblies. These were so liberally granted 
by many of them, and particularly by that of South Caro- 
lina, that the Parliament of Great Britain had sometimes 
reimbursed them for their extraordinary expenses.* 

Some of our wealthier planters had been in the habit of 



* Ramsay's " History Revolution in So. Ca.," vol. i. p. 9. 



122 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

sending their sons abroad to be educated. As a whole, 
the colonists were as loyal as any of the subjects of the 
Crown at home. But, in 1763, when the scheme of an 
American revenue was laid before Parliament, to be col- 
lected in the colonies without the consent of their local 
legislatures, the first shock was given to that loyalty which 
had never before been seriously disturbed. How that first 
shock soon after settled down into a feeling of dissatisfac- 
tion, which continued to increase, with an occasional strug- 
gle of the old attachments of birth and association, and at 
length attained complete ascendancy, are among the records 
of history. The people on the Pedee, from the first, par- 
ticipated deeply in the feeling of resistance against that, 
which in common with their countrymen elsewhere, they 
regarded as the encroachments of oppression at the expense 
of that well-regulated liberty which they had been accus- 
tomed to enjoy. They were, moreover, active and stead- 
fast throughout the great controversy and struggle which 
were at hand. 

As yet, they could scarcely be said to have a voice of 
their own in the Provincial Assembly, where the first notes 
of opposition were to be heard. Though nominally em- 
braced in parochial organizations, which were influential, 
they were virtually unrepresented. But little intercourse 
had yet been established with the parishes lower down; 
and no member of Assembly had appeared from the Upper 
Pedee. For this and other reasons, much anxiety was felt 
to have a distinct organization of their own, through which 
their sentiments might become known, and their influence 
be felt beyond the boundaries of their settlements, which 
were remote, and, as yet, comparatively unknown. One 
relic remains, identifying them with the general feeling 
which pervaded the people of the Province at this period — 
a relic connected with the immortal Pitt. It was after 
the repeal of the " Stamp Act,^^ when the difficulty with the 
Mother Country was thouglit for a time to have been happily 
adjusted, that so large a debt of gratitude was felt by the 
colonists to be due to Lord Chatham, the fearless and 
eloquent defender of the oppressed people of America, In 
Great Britain, the repeal of the " Cider Act " helped also 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



123 



to swell tlie feeling of enthusiasm wliich moved the hearts 
of that great people. 

In the South Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, of 
Charles-town, July 22ndj 1766, appeared this item of news 
from the British correspondent : — " There is a handsome 
medal struck and distributed, about the size of a crown- 
piece, on which is the head of Mr. Pitt, with his name; 
and for the reverse, the following inscription : ' The Man, 
who, having saved the Parent, pleaded with success for her 
children.^ " It was also added : " A great number of rings, 
set with the head of Mr. Pitt, is intended to be sent, as 
presents, to some of the principal merchants in America, 
by their correspondents in this country .^^ One of these 
medals was found a few years since in an ancient clearing^ 
at Cheraw Hill, in a good state of preservation. It is a 
handsome piece of work, the face being well executed, with 
the inscription, " Gulielmus Pitt ;" and on the reverse the 
words already quoted. 

The repeal of the Cider and Stamp Acts, in which Pitt 
took so prominent a part, produced a general and extra- 
ordinary outburst of enthusiasm. " The Irish,^^ it was said, in 
the Account already noticed, " are going to erect his Statue 
in every City in the Kingdom, as the Man who first saved 
the Mother, and after that her children, from ruin !" allud- 
ing to Great Britain and the colonies. Statues were ordered 



* It was picked up by a child on the surface in an old field near St. David's 
Church, and given to the author. No clue was found as to its history, until the 
account of it was met with in the old Gazette. 

The woodcut annexed represents it correctly. 




THE MAN 
WHO -HAVING 
SAVED THE 

[PARENT-PLEADEDJI 
^WITH SUCCESS 
FOR HER 
CHILDREN. 



124 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

this year by tlie Commons House of Assembly of Maryland 
to the honour of this noble defender of the rights of man. 
The Assembly of New York also ordered an elegant statue 
of brass from England. " They have also ordered/' it 
was said^ " that a piece of Plate, value 100 pounds 
sterling, be presented to John Seargant, Esq., of the City 
of London, with the thanks of the House, for his having 
cheerfully undertaken at their request, and to their great 
satisfaction faithfully discharged, the trust of special agent, 
and liberally declined any allowance for his trouble. June 
30th, 1766.^' 

The language inscribed on the medal appears to have 
been quite in vogue at the time. 

In the Gazette of July 8th, of the same year, it was 
said : " In the House of Commons, the entire illegality of 
General Warrants, was determined 25th April, even without 
a Division ; upon which occasion, that great Man, ' who 
saved the Parent, and pleaded with success for her chil- 
dren,' exerted himself in a remarkable manner." Occa- 
sionally the British papers contained happy hits at the 
opponents of American Rights, of which the following was 
a specimen : — 

"London, March 1. 
" Intelligence extraordinary. 
" A person of considerable eminence is said to be pre- 
paring the heads of a bill, to be laid before a great, august 
Assembly, in which, among other things, it will be proj)osed 
to be enacted, that no American shall presume to eat, drink, 
or sleep for the space of one whole year.'' 

The feeling in Carolina, after the repeal of the Stamp 
Act, was intense. A marble statue of Pitt was ordered fi'om 
England, to be executed in the highest style of art. "When 
received in Charles-town, the enthusiasm of the people knew 
no bounds. The principal men of the city, unwilling for 
the precious burden to be borne by other hands, drew it 
themselves, amid the firing of cannon and other demonstra- 
tions of admiring affection, to the spot selected for its erec- 
tion, the intersection of Broad and Meeting streets. The 
subsequent history of this statue was remarkable. The 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 125 

right arm J raised in eloquent attitude^ was shot off by a 
cannon-ball discharged from a British Fort on James Island, 
during the siege of Charles-town, in 1780. And such is the 
fickleness of popular feeling, that a few years after, the ex- 
citement against the son of Mr, Pitt, who was then direct- 
ing the war against France, was as great with some at the 
South as it had been enthusiastically warm for the father. 
In consequence of which, it is said that the statue in being 
taken down for a change of place, was allowed to fall, and 
in its broken and mutilated state put away among some 
old rubbish, where it remained for years uncared for and 
forgotten.* Until, at length, the noble impulse that had 
prompted its execution in the first instance, once more 
attained the ascendancy, and the valuable relic was carefully 
placed where it now stands, in front of the Orphan House 
in Charleston, an ornament to the city which should hold 
it dear to the latest generation. 

Such had been the progress of the settlements on the 
Pedee in all the elements of prosperity, that a distinct 
organization of their own, the want of which had been long 
felt, was now imperatively demanded. And happily for 
them, their claims in this behalf, could no longer be over- 
looked. It will be seen how a new impetus was thereby 
given to their hitherto steady progress, and an opportunity 
afforded them of taking their proper place in the affairs of 
the Province, to the advancement of which, in their mea- 
sure, as good citizens, they had faithfully contributed. 

The time withal was at hand, when their voice was of 
right to be heard ; and their efforts, as an organized body, 
to be acknowledged, who, having once been as loyal as any 
other subjects of the British Crown, were now to be as 
prompt and decided in throwing off the yoke which a mis- 
guided government, as an unnatural parent, would fain have 
put upon them. 



* Drayton's " Memoirs," v. 1, p. 60, and note, giving an interesting account 
of this statue. 



126 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Judicial history — Only Courts held in Charles-town — Evils resulting — Lynch 
law — Disturbances in North Carolina — Similar troubles in this Province-r- 
How remedied by the people — Regulation movement — First expression of 
the popular voice by petition for Circuit Courts — Action of Council thereon, 
and of Commons House of Assembly — Nothing done — People discouraged 
and disaffected — Acts of Regulators — Government aliirmed — Accounts 
from Back Country — Proclamations of Governor to quiet disturbances — 
Further accounts from interior — Action of Council — Legal proceedings 
instituted — Disturbances continue — People await the fate of Circuit Court 
Act — Disturbances in neighbourhood of Mars Eluif — Colonel Powell — 
Companies from Long Blufl" — Accounts of the conflict — Its end — Govern- 
ment alive from the first to the serious nature of the troubles — Regu- 
lators meet — Account of them — New election of Members of Assembly 
ordered — General meeting of Regulators — Precautions to preserve quiet at 
elections — Assembly meets — His Excellency's address — Assembly's reply — 
Domestic manufactures — Efforts to promote them — Subscription in St. 
David's — Assembly esi^ouses cause of colonists — Concluding reflections. 

Toward the close of the period of which some account has 
been given, events were transpiring, important beyond all 
others in their bearing upon that decisive change which the 
conflict with the Mother Country was soon to bring about. 
An alarming state of affairs had existed in the interior and 
more remote parts of the Province. Prior to the year 1769, 
the General Court was holden in Charles-town. This had 
supplanted the County and Precinct Courts which were ap- 
pointed in 1725 ; and being the only Court of Criminal and 
Civil jurisdiction in the Province (except the Courts of Jus- 
tices of the Peace, which had jurisdiction in all civil causes 
as high as twenty pounds current money), great oppression 
and inconvenience were felt by the people living remote 
from the seat of justice — by parties, witnesses, and jurors, 
who were obliged to attend the court ; and especially by 
suitors and prosecutors, who were often worn out by the 
law's delay, insulted by the insolence of office, and ruined 
by costs and expenses, most unreasonably incurred and 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 127 

cruelly exacted."^ The delay of suits, in many cases, in 
consequence of the distance from Charles-town, was very 
great, and the cost and inconvenience of such attendance 
exceedingly burdensome and detrimental. The business of 
the Provost Marshal was much too extensive to be duly 
executed, and his fees, by reason of the extent of his office 
throughout the Province, often more than half the amounts 
sued for. The expense of recovering small debts frequently 
exceeded their whole sum. In consequence of this state of 
things, numbers of people, it is said, were deterred from 
becoming inhabitants of the Province, and many large and 
valuable tracts of land continued to lie uncultivated, to the 
injury of the public revenue and the trade with Great Bri- 
tain. And yet greater evils prevailed, so as seriously to 
affect the inhabitants of the interior, because unprotected to 
a great extent in their persons and property by the strong 
arm of the law. They were too remote to think of carry- 
ing thieves and other offenders, except in extraordinary 
cases, to Charles-town. Hence the most unhappy facilities 
were afforded to the worst classes of people to escape the 
punishment due to their crimes, and the payment of their 
just debts. This state of things drove the inhabitants of 
the middle and parts of the upper county, then the frontier 
settlements, into the most disorderly and violent measures. 
The laws, which were found ineffectual to restrain and 
punish horse thieves and other notorious offenders, were also 
disregarded by good and honest men, who undertook to do 
themselves justice, and to punish the guilty by arbitrary 
measures. The authority of the civil magistrate was held 
in contempt, because insufficient for the maintenance of 
order and the regular execution of the laws. Some efforts 
were made to repress these disturbances, but they were 
found unavailing.* 

The evil, which had been of long standing and grown 
with the increase of population, at length became intoler- 



* Introduction to Brevard's "Digest," vol. i. p. 14. Tliis introduction is of 
great value in connexion with the Judicial History of this period. Though 
brief, it is a very able and comprehensive exposition of those evils which drove 
the people to desperation, and of the changes imperatively demanded, 
t Brevard, vol. i. p 14. 



128 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

able. Such was the distance to Charles-town, the seat of 
justice ; such the difficulty, nay, the impossibility in most 
instances, of securing the attendance of necessary parties, 
and the great expense withal, that redress was literally out 
of the question — redress according to the forms of law. 
This, indeed, has been the case in the first settlement of all 
our western states at later periods.* To increase the difiS- 
culty in Carolina, a certain class of ofienders now abounded. 
There was a floating element — men of lawless character, who 
lived by their wits, and infested every community. Horse 
thieves and negro stealers, highway-robbers and abandoned 
trespassers had to be dealt with. Signal and summary 
punishment, though often demanded by the atrocious cir- 
cumstances attending particular cases, was not to be had 
according to the established course of justice. However 
heinous their offences had been, criminals could not ordi- 
narily be brought to a legal condemnation. They came in 
strongly organized bands, and by their mutual support, false 
swearing, and intimidation of prosecutors, either caused the 
law to be ineffectual, or the guilty entirely to escape. 
Having in vain sought relief from the Government, the vir- 
tuous inhabitants had but one alternative left — to take the 
administration of remedial measures into their own hands. 

They called themselves " Regulators ;" and thus " Lynch 
law^^ had its origin at this period. 

The Regulators consisted of respectable planters and 
others, who demanded a better system for the more regular, 
equal, and vigorous, as well as prompt administration of jus- 
tice, f Such was the character of the actors, and of the 
movement made on the Pedee. The Regulators maintained 
for some time a vigorous and efiective organization, not 
abusing the powers they assumed, or exercising them beyond 
the exigences of their unhappy condition. On the other 
hand, the Government, instead of giving ear to their timely 
and respectful complaints, and providing some redress, em- 
ployed as instruments to subdue the spirit of rebellion, as it 



* Remarkably so in Texas, where the history of Lynch Law, or the Regu- 
lators, has been one of a peculiar and most instructive character, 
■f Brevard's " Introduction," p. 14. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 129 

was called, and enforce the existing system, men of little or 
no character or respectability, the obsequious tools of those 
in power, who abused their authority and fattened on the 
general distress. This was more or less the case in all the 
interior jjarts of the Province, and especially in the western 
district, where a man of low character, named Scovill, was 
employed to enforce the law among the self-coastituted 
Regulators.'^ In executing his commission he adopted very 
severe measures, and came into serious collision Avith num- 
bers of the better classes among the people, involving mul- 
titudes in great distress. All this led, in that part of the 
Province, to very grave difficulties and disturbances at the 
commencement of the Revolution. 

In North Carolina also serious troubles now existed. 
The first complaints there arose from oppressive exactions 
laid by government officials in the shape of exorbitant fees 
and otherwise upon the people. 

As early as 1766, these disturbances, beginning in Gran- 
ville, extended into Orange and Anson Counties. Up to 
April, 1768, those who had taken part in these proceedings 
in North Carolina were designated by thg appellation of the 
" Mob/' and seem to have adopted il themselves.^ On xhe 
4th of April they changed it tc that of " Regulators."! 
Oppressed with the malpractices of some avaricious indivi- 
duals, they forcibly opposed the administration of civil 
government under the officers of the Crown. These insur- 
gents, though numerous, being undisciplined, and for the 
most part without arms, were easily dispersed by Gov''- 
Tryon at the head of the incorporated militia of the country. 
Some of their leaders were killed in action, others were 
hanged, and all of them were involved in distress. J Three 
hundred of their number were left dead upon the field. It 
might have been expected that those in either Province, who 
were thus ready to resist the constituted authorities, on 
account of oppressions, or to take the law into their own 
hands in order to bring the guilty to condemnation, would 



* Ramsay's " History of Revolution in So. Ca.," vol. i. p. 63. 

t Martin's " History of No. Ca.," pp. 215-217. 

J " Ramsay," vol. i. p. 213. 

K 



130 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

be true to their country in the great conflict then approach- 
ing. These were in reality the first revolutions in America,^ 
and those who assumed therein the attitude of open resis- 
tance were the first rebels. But, disappointing public ex- 
pectation^ many in North Carolina afterwards joined the 
royal party. 

As it was with those between the Broad and Saluda 
Rivers in S°' C- who came in conflict with Scovill^ having 
suffered so severely for opposing regular government^ they 
could not be persuaded afterward to co-operate with their 
countrymen in the support of congresses and committees 
raised for purposes of resistance. f And thus^ a spirit true 
to the instincts of liberty in the inception of the struggle, 
though to some extent misguided^ was crushed by the dis- 
asters it encountered, and turned at last against that cause 
which it might so nobly have sustained. Such, however, 
was not the history of the Regulation Movement on the 
Pedee. It began not so much in the shape of open resis- 
tance or opposition to Government, as in the assumption of 
authority within certain limits, which the best citizens 
deemed essential to the public welfare and to individual 
safety. The most respectable and influential inhabitants 
were found chiefly on the river, where the first settlements 
were made, and these were all united in their respective 
neighbourhoods, as committees of vigilance, for the detection 
and punishment of offenders. With them no stigma 
attached to the name of Regulator. They were actuated by 
good motives, and only sought to efi'ect, by a summary 
process of their own, what the law, as then administered, 
had signally failed to accomjjlish. Violent measures were 
only resorted to as a temporary expedient. Under the 
extraordinary circumstances of the time, the course of these 
Regulators cannot be condemned. It furnishes, however, 
no precedent for a similar line of conduct in others who 
live in a more advanced and better regulated state of society, 
with the important privilege, moreover, of courts of their 
own, which to our early settlers was denied. 



* Sabine's " American Loyalists," p. 27. 
t Ramsay's " Revolution in So. Ca.," vol. i. p. 64. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 131 

The position taken by the Regulators on the Pedee, and 
the conflicts to which it led with the royal authority, un- 
doubtedly nursed the spirit of liberty, preparing the way for 
that early and bold declaration of their rights, as well as 
for those heroic sacrifices and unflinching struggles in the 
cause of independence, for which the Whigs of the Old 
Cheraws were to be afterward distinguished. 

The first expression of the popular voice, with reference 
to the evils of which we have spoken, is found in the records 
of the Upper House of Assembly, or Council, March 16th, 
175.2. On that day, this entry was made : — " Read the 
petition of the Inhabitants on Pedee River, about the mouth 
of Lynchers Creek, Humbly setting forth : That the Humble 
Petitioners reside in the remotest parts of this Province, 
having 200 miles to travel to the seat of Government ; and 
that trade and commerce among us are greatly obstructed 
for want of a County Court appointed to hear and deter- 
mine all causes, as well civil as criminal, in the same 
manner as every Court in each Province to the Northward, 
has power to hear and determine all such causes. We find 
the frontier here to be a place of refuge for many evil- 
disposed people and those of the meanest principles, crowd- 
ing in amongst us — such as Horse Stealers and other 
Felons, having made their escape from North Carolina, and 
other parts — others cohabiting with their neighbor's wives, 
and living in a most lascivious manner, while we have no 
way or means to suppress them. We therefore humbly 
pray, that an Act be passed, dividing Craven Couuty ; and 
that that part from the mouth of Lynchers Creek upward, 
to the extent of this Province, on both sides of Great 
Pedee River, bounding Southwardly by Lynchers Creek, 
Northwardly by the Province line, which we pray may be 
further extended ; and likewise by a North line from oppo- 
site to the mouth of Lynchers Creek to the Province line — 
be one distinct County, in which we may have twleve or 
more Justices appointed and authorised, without fee or 
reward, to hear and determine all causes, as well civil as 
criminal, without having their jurisdiction limited — any 
person supposing himself aggrieved, to be redressed by ap- 
pealing to a Superior Coui't in Charles-town. We likewise 

K 2 



132 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

humbly pray^ that in consequence of the great expense 
which our County will be at in building a Court House, 
prison, pillory, and stocks, we may be exempt from paying 
such public taxes for some few years, as in your wisdom you 
shall think lit. And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, 
&c., 

" John Crawford, 

" Owen David, 

" Wm. Summer, 
" And about 60 more subscribers/^ * 

This timely and earnest appeal could not be altogether 
slighted. The better classes of people were groaning under 
the evils of which they here complained. 

" The said Petition," as the Records of Council further 
inform us, " being considered ; it was Ordered, that the 
same be sent down to the Commons House of Assembly by 
the Master in Chancery." On the following day, the 
House " Resolved to appoint a Committee to take the same 
into consideration, consisting of Mr. Trapier, Mr. Powell,t 
Mr. Lynch, Mr. Dart, and Captain Buchanan." 

On the 22nd of April, the Committee reported, " That 
they have, pursuant to the Order of the House, examined 
the matter of the said Petition ; and are of opinion, 
that it will be no wise to the advantage of the Petitioners 
to have the County of Craven divided, as j)rayed for by 
their Petition, — because there is no town or other place 
proper for holding Courts of Judicature in that part of the 
Country which the Petitioners pray may be established a 
separate and distinct County. But the Committee are of 
opinion, that it is absolutely necessary that a Court be 
established, to be holdeu at George-town, Winyaw, in the 



* From two of the names subscribed to this petition — viz., John Craw ford 
and Owen David, it is manifest tliat the petitioners were not confined to the 
country about the mouth of Lynche's Creeli, but extended much higher up the 
river. Tlie distance stated to the seat of Government (Charles-town) being 
double the distance from Lynche's Creek, would also indicate that the more 
remote parts of Craven County were actually embraced in those taking an active 
part in the movement. 

f This was George Gabriell Powell, a member from Prince George, Winyaw, 
with whose name we are to become so familiar, as connected with the region 
■ibove. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEEAWS. 133 

said County, for hearing, trying, and determining all 
actions, causes, and crimes whatever (capital crimes ex- 
cepted), that may arise or happen in the said County ; 
And humbly recommend that a bill be brought in for that 
purpose, and that a Message be sent to the Governor by 
this House, to desire that his Excellency will be pleased to 
appoint Justices of the Peace in that Part of the Province, 
agreeably to the prayer of the said Petition/'' This Report 
was read, considered, and duly agreed to by the House ; 
and a Committee appointed to prepare and bring in a Bill 
for establishing Courts of Justice at George-town, in Craven 
County, and at Beaufort, in Granville County. A Message 
was also Ordered to be sent to his Excellency, requesting 
him to appoint Justices of the Peace in the distant Parts 
of the Province. 

And thus the matter ended, except that additional Jus- 
tices of the Peace were appointed. But their powers were 
too limited to afford such relief as the inhabitants de- 
manded. No distinct county organization, such as was 
prayed for, being provided, the consequence was they were 
deprived of whatever benefit even a County Court of in- 
ferior jurisdiction would have brought with it. No court 
was established at George-town, as recommended by the 
Committee. The Kepresentatives of the people felt the 
necessity of such measures, but the Government, actuated 
by a most mistaken policy, was unwilling to lend any en- 
couragement. 

The inhabitants were consequently forced, either to sub- 
mit to the grievous delay and ruinous expense of prose- 
cuting their claims there, and carrying criminals to 
Charles-town, or to take the redress of their grievances 
into their own hands. Finding their efforts for relief in- 
effectual, they appear to have made no further attempt in 
that direction for years to come. In the meantime the 
evils of which they had complained continued to increase, 
and at length become insupportable. The Provincial Go- 
vernment, reflecting the wishes of that of the Mother 
Country, was unwilling, as will be found in thiS sequel, to 
establish Courts in the interior. These once secured, other 
privileges, it was thought, would be demanded, gradual en- 



134 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

croachments be made on the established order of things^ the 
influence of the Government in Charles-town lessened, and 
by degrees the way prepared for the spirit of liberty, and the 
assertion of their rights by the people of Carolina. It was 
a short-sighted and fatal policy. For the people who were 
thus aggrieved began to feel at length, that those who ought 
to have been most deeply alive to their suflerings, and who 
had the power to give redress, were willing to sacrifice them, 
if need be, to the interests of the Crown. 

Of the history of the efforts made by the back settlers, 
during the nearly quarter of a century which followed before 
they became their own masters, to rid themselves of the 
evils mentioned, no record remains. The earliest account 
left to us was of a similar state of things in another part 
of the Province. In the Gazette of May 26th, 1767, ap- 
peared the following extract of a letter from Pine Tree Hill 
(Camden), dated May 14th, 1767 :— " On the 6*^ in'*, a 
number of armed men, being in search of Horse Stealers, 
robbers, &c., discovered a parcel of them in camp on Broad 
River, where an engagement soon ensued, and the Thieves 
were put to flight ; and though none of them were taken, 
it is reasonable to suppose, from the quantity of blood on 
the ground, that some of them were killed. They left 
behind them ten horses, thirteen saddles, some guns, &c.^^ 

This was but the commencement of troubles. The great 
evils complained of began to appear in a thoroughly orga- 
nized, and, to the Government, very alarming form. The 
Gazette of July 27th — August 3rd following, made this 
statement : — " The gang of Villains from Virginia and North 
Cp-rolina, who have for some years past, in small parties, 
under particular leaders, infested the back parts of the 
Southern Provinces, stealing horses from one, and selling 
them in the next, notwithstanding the late public examples 
made of several of them, we hear are more formidable than 
ever as to numbers, and more audacious and cruel in their 
thefts and outrages. ^Tis reported that they consist of more 
than 200, form a chain of communication with each other, 
and have places of general meeting ; where (in imitation of 
Councils of War) they form plans of operation and defence, 
and (alluding to their secrecy and fidelity to each other), 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 135 

call their places Free Mason Lodges. Instances of their 
cruelty to the people in the back settlements, where they 
rob or otherwise abuse, are so numerous and shocking, 
that a narrative of them would fill a whole Gazette, and 
every reader with horror. They at present range in the 
Forks between Broad, Saludy, and Savannah Rivers. Two 
of the gang were hanged last week at Savannah, viz., Lundy 
Hart and Obadiah Greenage. Two others, James Fergu- 
son and Jesse Hambersam, were killed when these were 
taken. ^' Soon after this, other alarming accounts reached 
Charles-town from the interior, for the back settlements 
were now in a state of general commotion. At a Meeting 
of Council, October 5th, 1767, " His Excellency informed 
the Board that he had received information that a consider- 
able number of the Inhabitants between Santee and Wateree 
rivers had assembled, and in a riotous manner gone up and 
down the country, committing riots and disturbances, 
and that they had burnt the houses of some persons who were 
reported to be Harbourers of Horse Thieves, and talk of 
coming to Charles-town to make some complaints. The 
Board gave it as their opinion to his Excellency that to 
prevent the mischief such commotions would be attended 
with, it would be proper for his Excellency to issue a Pro- 
clamation, commanding them to disperse, and enjoining all 
officers to take care to preserve the public peace.'^ How 
unfeeling must have been a Government which had no sym- 
pathies for the troubles of its unoffending subjects ! and 
how blind to imagine that proclamations could quiet the 
public mind, and restore tranquillity among those whose 
persons and property were endangered by outlaws, who were 
running at large, the enemies of mankind ! 

In November following, a petition* from the upper and 
interior parts of Craven County, for the redress of grie- 
vances, was presented to Government. 

In reply to this, and as touching the fearful state of 
things of which accounts were now frequently coming in, his 



* It is a source of much regret to the author that he was unable, after 
diligent search, to discover any further trace of this petition. It was not copied, 
as was usual in the proceedings of Council, and was nowhere else to be found 
among the public records of the time. It came from the Upper Pedee. 



136 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Excellency Lord Charles Grevill Montagu^ on 5tli of No- 
vember;, made the following address to both Houses of 
Assembly : — 

" Hon. Gen*° : I should think myself equally negligent in 
the duty I owe to my King and this Province, if I did not 
recommend to you an early and serious consideration of the 
unhapjDy situation of the Back Parts of this Country. The 
various acts of villainy committed there, in contempt of all 
laws, human and divine, we have too frequent accounts of, 
and too recent proofs of, in the late trials of the unhappy 
convicts now under sentence of death. Far remote from the 
seat of Justice, they are daily exposed to misery and dis- 
tress. These are objects that require redress, and are 
worthy the care of the Legislature. Tumultuous risings of 
any people, if not properly attended to, are of dangerous 
tendency, and they are a disgrace to a country, and particu- 
larly pernicious to a commercial and newly settled colony. 
The means to suppress those licentious spirits that have so 
lately appeared in the distant parts of the Province, and, 
assuming the name of Regulators, have, in defiance of Go- 
vernment, and to the subversion of good order, illegally 
tried, condemned, and punished many persons, require an 
attentive deliberation." 

To this the Upper House of Assembly made the follow- 
ing reply : — 

" The Humble Address of his Majesty^s Council. We, 
his Majesty^s dutiful and loving subjects, the Council of this 
Province, beg leave to return our thanks to your Excellency 
for your speech delivered yesterday to both Houses of 
Assembly. It is with the utmost concern that we behold 
the distracted state of the Frontier Settlements of this Pro- 
vince, where force and rapine, riot and disorder, supersede 
the temperate provisions of law and justice ; but, tumultuous 
examples never fail to multiply those evils which it is the 
policy of well-regulated States to prevent by proper laws. 
The great objects proposed to our consideration deserve the 
most serious and deliberate attention, and we assure your 
Excellency that we shall, on our part, most heartily concur 
in every measure calculated to advance the public good, to 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 137 

compose the minds and remove the distresses of our fellow 
subjects." 

The Government, as is here manifest, did not comprehend 
the real nature of existing evils, or the remedies necessary 
to be applied. It is also e^adent from the Governor's 
language, that there was not only no sympathy with them, 
but that a feeling of very decided opposition had been 
excited against the Regulators. 

As an evidence of the feeling entertained by the Govern- 
ment, the fact may be mentioned that in March following 
(1768), a Petition fi'om the Back Settlers for a Circuit 
Court Bill, as a measure of relief, was disposed of by 
Council, " after mature deliberation, by determining ' that 
it would not be necessary to take any notice of the same.' " 
This, of course, only led to more desperate measures on the 
part of the suflferers. 

In less than a month, however, the authorities in 
Charles-town were induced to change their minds, and 
pursue a different policy, such were the indications of ap- 
proaching difficulties, threatening to bring the people at 
once into an attitude of open rebellion, and perchance to 
overthrow the Government itself. On the 18th of April, 
a Circuit Court Act was passed, but afterwards failed to 
become a law. On the next day, April 19th, at a Meeting 
of Council, " His Hon'"' the Lieut. -Gov""' observed to his Ex- 
cellency, that a great number of Prosecutions were now being 
carried on against the people who had committed several 
outrages in the Back Country, and went by the name of 
Kegulators, that several of the delinquents were very poor, 
and would be much harassed by them, and they had been 
unhappily deluded by some, who were ring-leaders in these 
riots, the punishment of whom, he apprehended, would 
answer the end of public justice, and vindicate the honor 
o^ Government; and therefore mentioned it as his opinion, 
that it would be proper to give directions to the Attorney- 
General, after a sufficient number of the most considerable 
were convicted, to enter Nolle Prosequis on the remaining 
prosecutions. The Board agreeing in opinion with his 
Honor, his Excellency was pleased to direct, that the 



138 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Attorney-General^ after such a number as he should think 
convenient, not to exceed eight of the Principal Rioters, 
were convicted, to stop further proceedings against the rest/^* 
Little did his Excellency, his Honor, and the Council un- 
derstand the real state of the case. United as the sturdy 
yeomen of the Back Country were, and far removed from 
the coast, what cared they for prosecutions commenced in 
Charles-town? Having in vain petitioned for redress, no 
alternative was left them but to enter boldly upon the con- 
flict now at hand. In less than three months they were 
found at work, as appears from the following remarks in 
the Gazette of June 13th. " It seems hardly probable that 
the disturbances in our back settlements will entirely sub- 
side, notwithstanding all the prudent steps that have been 
taken, or can be taken, by the Government to suppress them, 
until the late Act of the General Assembly of this Province 
for establishing Circuit Courts, takes effect : for we daily 
hear of new irregularities committed by the people called 
Regulators, who, seeming to despair of rooting out those des- 
perate villains that remain among them any other way, still 
take upon themselves to punish such offenders as they can 
catch. We hear, that within this month, one Watts and one 
Distoe, have received 500 lashes each by their direction ; and 
that an infamous woman has also received corporal punish- 
ment. We hear, also, that one John Bowles has lately lost 
his life in attempting to take Mr. Woodward, one of the 
leaders of the people called Regulators. According to our 
account. Woodward, refusing to surrender himself, Bowles 
fired at, and would have killed him, but the ball struck the 
barrel of a gun which he held across his breast, upon which, 
some people in company with Woodward, fired, and killed 
Bowles.'' •" 

It seems that up to this time, the authorities in Charles- 
town were not apprized of the fact that the regulation 
movement embraced the most respectable and influential 
element in the Back Country. At a later period even, a 
most singular misapprehension will be found to have pre- 
vailed on the subject. The crisis on the Pedee was now 



" Council Journal," No. 34, pp. 118, 119. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 139 

rapidly approaching. The next intelligence of which any 
account remains, though not directly from that quarter, in- 
dicates what was going on there. 

"At a Meeting of Council, July 5th, 1768, his Honor 
communicated to the Board a letter he had rec*'" from 
Tacitus Galliard, Esq., to whom he had sent an express, 
desiring him to use his endeavours to appi'ehend the 
Deserters from the Regulars in Charles-town, in which 
Mr. Galliard informed his Honor, that the Back parts of 
the Country were far from heing quiet, and that those 
people called Regulators, continued still to assemble together; 
but, as few members were present, the further consideration 
of what might be proper to be done, was adjourned over 
till next Friday morning.'^"^ 

At that meeting, however, no action appears to have 
been taken. On 25th July, the following intelligence was 
given in the So. Ca. Gazette. " The last accounts from the 
Back Settlements say, that the People called the Regula- 
tors were to have a meeting at Lynchers Creek, on last 
Friday, where it was expected 1200 would be assembled. 
The occasion of this meeting is said to be, a Party of them 
lately ha\ang been roughly used by a Gang of Banditti, 
consisting of Mulattoes, Free Negroes, &c., notorious 
Harborers of runaway slaves, at a place called Thompson's 
Creek, whom they ordered, to remove. It is added, they 
anxiously wait to hear the fate of the Act for establishing 
Circuit Courts in this Province, sent home for the Royal 
approbation, which, if it obtains, will restore good order in 
those parts. '■' It may surprise the reader to find that so 
large a number of the classes here mentioned, Mulattoes, 
Free Negroes, &c., had collected at this early period in the 
settlement of the Province. Such a meeting of the in- 
habitants would indicate a formidable band of desperadoes. 
A more serious conflict was now to begin on the River. 
In Council, August 2nd, " His Honor communicated to the 
Board a letter from Col. Powell, and another from Robert 
Weaver, Esq., a magistrate for Craven County, and an affi- 
davit taken by Mr. Weaver from some of the people who 



• Council Journal," No. 34, pp. 174, 175. 



140 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

live upon the Pedee ; from which it appeared that a Con- 
stable having a Warrant of Distress to execute' on the 
Chattels of some of the Regulators, had called to his 
assistance 13 other men ; that this party had fallen in 
with a considerable number of the Regulators, under Gideon 
Gibson, an Inhabitant of those Parts, when a skirmish was 
begun by the Regulators, in which one of the Constable's 
party was killed ; that the Regulators then overpowered the 
Constable's party, and whipt some of them in a most cruel 
manner, and threatened to hang one of them, in case one 
of their party, a brother of the said Gibson, who was 
"wounded in the affray, should die. It also appeared that 
Mr, Weaver, the Magistrate who had issued the warrant, 
and was obnoxious to them because he declared his disap- 
probation of their proceedings, lived in the greatest terror 
and danger of his life and property, and that all that part 
of the Country was a scene of riot and disorder/'' 

" His Honor, by the advice of the Board, sent for Mr. 
Camjjbell, the Clerk of the Crown and Peace, and directed 
him to lay those papers before the Judges, and to inform 
them that he earnestly recommended to them to take such 
steps as would enforce obedience to the laws, quell the 
disorders in the Back Country, and bring some of these 
atrocious offenders to condign punishment ; and to assure 
them of his readiness to give all assistance in his power to 
accomplish these ends.''* 

This disturbance near Mars Bluff thus begun, proved to be 
of most important consequence in alarming the Government 
on the one hand, and rousing and uniting the better class 
of inhabitants in the interior on the other. Gideon Gibson, 
though of violent and perhaps turbulent character, was a 
man of property and influence, an acknowledged leader in 
that part of the Country, and as bold as he was intent upon 
vindicating the rights of the people. It was necessary, 
therefore, if a Government whose authority was now on 
the wane, was to be supported, that prompt and stringent 
measures should be adopted. In Council, August 3rd, 
" His Honor observed to the Board, that his Majesty had 



* " Council Journal," No. 34, pp. 194, 195, 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 141 

published a very strong Proclamation in England on 
account of the late riots near London, and desired the 
opinion of the Board if it might not be proper to issue some- 
thing similar to it here, on account of the Riots in some of 
the Back Settlements. The Board were of oj)inion that it 
would be proper; and the following draught of a Proclama- 
tion being approved of, it was ordered to be prepared." 

" South Carolina. 
" By the Hon^- W™- Bull, Esq., Gov'- and Commander- 
in-Chief in and over the said Province . 

" A Proclamation. 

" Whereas, it has been represented to me, that divers 
dissolute and disorderly persons have of late frequently 
assembled themselves together in the North- Western Parts 
of this Province, in a riotous and unlawful manner, to the 
disturbance of the public Peace, and in particular have, in 
the most illegal manner, taken upon them to whip and con- 
fine several persons, under the pretence of punishing them 
for crimes which they have charged against them, instead of 
delivering them into the hands of public Justice, and have 
daringly resisted the execution of the King^s Process ; 
and that these acts of violence have been accompanied with 
threats of still greater outrages, which have spread terror 
and alarm amongst those most likely to be affected thereby ; 
and that some of those dissolute and disorderly persons have 
audaciously attempted to deter and intimidate the Civil 
Magistrates from doing their duty — I have taken the same 
into serious consideration, and being duly sensible of the 
mischievous consequences that may ensue from the con- 
tinuance and repetition of such disorders, have thought fit, 
by and with the advice of his Majesty's Hon^' Council, to 
issue this my Proclamation, hereby strictly requiring and 
commanding all the Justices, the Provost Marshal, and all 
other the Peace Officers of this Province, that they do 
severally use their utmost endeavours, by every legal means 
in their power, effectually to prevent and suppress all such 
tumults and unlawful assemblies, and to that end to put 
in due execution the laws for preventing, suppressing, and 



142 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

punishing the same, and that all his Majesty ^s dutiful and 
loyal subjects be aiding and assisting therein : And further, 
that the Magistrates and all others acting in obedience to 
this my Proclamation, may rely on the protection and sup- 
port of the law in so doing, as they shall answer at their 
peril for the neglect thereof. Given under my hand and 
the great seal of his Majesty^s said Province, at Charles- 
town, this third Day of August, 1768, and in the eighth year 
of his Majesty's reign. « William Bull. 

" By bis Honor's command, 

" Tlio" Skettowe, Sect^. 

" God save the King.^^"'^ 

This measure, however, being deemed insufficient, further 
action was taken. In Council, August 5th, " His Honor 
the Lieu*" Gov''" observed, that several of the People who had 
associated with the Regulators had been unwarily led into 
the tumultuous proceedings they had been engaged in, and 
had also been greatly provoked thereto by the repeated 
losses they had sustained from the villainous gangs of Horse- 
Thieves that infested those parts; and that he was of 
opinion that if a promise of a free pardon was to be offered 
to them for outrages already committed, it would probably 
disperse them and restore peace and tranquillity to the 
Back parts of this Province ; and a majority of the Board 
agreeing with his Honor in opinion that the effect of such 
a Proclamation should be tried ; the following draught of a 
Proclamation being approved of, it was ordered to be pub- 
lished. 

" A Proclamation. 

" South Carolina, 

« By the Hon'" W"- Bull, &c. 

" Whereas, by the advice of his Majesty's Hon^' Council, I 
did, on the 3rd day of August ins*" issue my Proclamation, 
reciting, that it having been represented to me that divers 
dissolute and disorderly persons had of late frequently 
assembled themselves together in the North-Western parts 
of this Province, in a riotous and unlawful manner, to the 
disturbance of the public Peace ; and particvdarJy had, in 

* " Council Journal," No. 2i, pp. 203-204. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 143 

the most illegal manner, taken upon themselves to whip 
and confine several persons, under pretence of punishing 
them for crimes which they had charged against them, 
instead of delivering them into the hands of Public Justice, 
and had daringly resisted the King's Process, and that their 
acts of violence had been accompanied with tlireats of still 
greater outrages, which had spread terror and alarm amongst 
those most likely to be immediately affected thereby ; and 
that the said disorderly persons had audaciously attempted 
to deter and intimidate the Civil Magistrate from doing his 
duty; and I, having taken the same into my serious con- 
sideration, did think proper thereby strictly to enjoin and 
command the Justices, Provost Marshal, and all other the 
Peace Officers of this Province, to use their utmost endea- 
vom^s, by every legal means in their power, to prevent and 
suppress all such tumults and unlawful assemblies ; and to 
that end to put in due execution the laws for preventing, 
suppressing, and punishing the same, assuring them and all 
others acting in obedience thereto, of the protection and sup- 
port of the law in so doing : But forasmuch as it has also 
been further represented, and appears unto me, that very many 
of the persons concerned in the said acts of violence, have 
unwarily been drawn in, and even provoked thereto by the 
great and repeated losses they have sustained from the 
gangs of Robbers and Banditti who infested those parts, and 
who were become the more dangerous and daring by being 
confederated in numerous bodies, and it Avas thereby ren- 
dered difficult to bring them to Public Justice : I, there- 
fore, taking the same into my serious consideration, and 
being willing, under such circumstances, rather to prevent 
than to inflict the punishment due to such outrageous and 
illegal proceedings, do, by and with the advice of his 
Majesty's Hon' Council, issue this my Proclamation, hereby 
strictly commanding and requiring all persons so unlaw- 
fully assembled to disperse themselves and repair peaceably 
to their respective homes and occupations, and forbidding 
them and all persons hereafter, at their utmost peril, so to 
assemble again ; and I do promise his Majesty's most gra- 
cious Pardon for the misdemeanors by them committed at 
any time before the date hereof in so unlawfully assembling. 



144 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

whipping or confining any person or persons as aforesaid^ 
to all such as shall forthwith pay due obedience to this my 
Proclamation^ excepting to those j)ersons concerned in the 
outrages and daring violences committed by Gideon Gibson 
and others upon George Thompson^ a lawful constable, and 
his party, in the actual execution of a legal warrant, at or 
near Mars Bluff, in Craven County, upon the 25th day of 
Jiily last. Given under my hand, and the Great Seal of the 
Province, &c.j this 6th August, 1768. 

"Wm. Bull.''* 

This was followed, two days after, by the following state- 
ment in the South Carolina Gazette : — " Tuesday last, the 
Proclamation inserted in the first page of this paper was 
published in the usual manner ; and on Saturday there was 
another, which is not come into our hands. A variety of 
reports continue to be circulated in different ways, and no 
dou.bt with different views, of the Proceedings and Inten- 
tions of the People called Regulators, in the North Westernf 
part of this Province, some of them very alarming : amongst 
others, that 2 or 3000 of them were to assemble on Thurs- 
day, at the Congarees, for very unjustifiable purposes ; but 
we are assured, that the People so met, or to meet, are not 
so considerable a body, and have only in view to be in- 
formed of the Bounds of the Respective Parishes to which 
they belong (the lines of which have been but lately run), 
that they may not lose the right of voting for Representa- 
tives of their own nomination, at their next general election, 
whenever the law gives it them.''' 

August 15th, the Gazette said : — "The outrageous oppo- 
sition lately offered to the Civil authority near Mars Bluff, 
on Pedee River, being at present a general subject of con- 
versation, and by many attributed to the People called 
Regulators, it may not be amiss to lay before the public the 
following information, viz. : That there are two parties so 
called, and the proceedings of the one frequently con- 
founded with those of the other. That the first (called the 
Honest party) consists in general of people of good prin- 



* " Council Journal," No. 34, pp. 208-211. 
•j- It should rather have been " North Eastern," &c. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 145 

ciples and projDerty, who have assembled chiefly about the 
Cougarees, the Ridge, &e., professedly with the view of 
dri\-iug all horse thieves, with their harbourers, abettors, 
and other vagabonds, from amongst them; and that the 
other (called the Rogues^ party) are a gang of banditti, a 
numerous collection of outcast Mulattoes, Mustees, Free 
Negroes, &c., all horse thieves from the borders of Virginia 
and other Northern Colonies (the very people whom the 
Regulators would have expelled the Province, or brought to 
Justice), and have taken up arms to carry on their villainy 
with impunity. The last accounts we have received of both 
are. That the former, on the \6^^ past, took up one Charles 
Sparks, of infamous character, on Pedee, and ordered him to 
receive 500 lashes and quit the Province : and of the latter, 
that an armed company of them, headed by one Gideon 
Gibson, on the 25^^ past, near Mars-bluflP, surrounded a 
Constable and 12 men, who were sent to bring one of the 
villains before a magistrate, and after a smart skirmish, ' 
wherein two of the Constable's party were mortally wounded, 
and one shot through the shoulder, took the rest Prisoners, 
whom he discharged, after ordering them 50 lashes each. In 
the skirmish, Gibson had one of his sons killed, and another 
wounded in the neck. Proper measures are taken to bring 
the principals of this desperate gang to Justice." 

On the 22nd August, the Gazette said : — " We are sorry 
that we cannot have the pleasure of informing the public, 
that either of the Proclamations issued by his Honor the 
Lieu* Gov^ on the S""*^ and 6"* ins*^, are likely to produce the 
desired eflFects ; Gideon Gibson declining to surrender on 
any terms ; having put himself under the protection of 
people that do not at present seem disposed to give him up. 
This man's character, we are told, always stood fair, till he 
lately became the tool of a Party, who committed the out- 
rages near Mars-bluff, mentioned in our last." 

The Gazette, from which the preceding extracts are taken, 
was in the interest of the Government, and therefore dis- 
posed to cast as much odium as possible on every proceeding 
in which the people arrayed themselves against the consti- 
tuted authorities of the Province. At first the Regulators 
were spoken of in terms of unmcasiu'cd condemnation ; but, 

L 



146 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

as the fact became known that they embraced the best people 
in the interior settlements^ the tone of the press^ as well as 
of the Government^ became very much softened. To Gibson^ 
however, no mercy was to be shown. He was made to 
appear as one of the Rogues' party. How far this was from 
being the case will appear in the sequel. 

Immediately after the receipt of the intelligence in 
Charles-town, Col. Powell, of the Pedee Regiment, with the 
Provost Marshal, was despatched to the interior to quell 
the disturbance. In Council, 26th August, His Honor, 
Wm. Bull, informed the Board, that Roger Pinckney, Esq., 
the Provost Marshal, had returned from the Northward, for 
which place he had set out with warrants against Gibson, 
one of the Regulators, and that he had, by him, received 
the following letter from Col. Powell : — 

« To the Hon^ W"^ Bull, &c. 
« Hon^ Sir, 

" On the 9th ins* I set out with Mr. 
Pinckney for Mars-bluff, and reached Lynchers Creek, dis- 
tance 42 miles, that night, where we were joined by about 
25 of the Posse Comitatus ; and the following evening 
arrived at Mars-bluff, distance 30 miles ; at which place we 
found 15 men of Capt. Weaver''s company, and were the day 
following reinforced by 20 men of Capt. Thomson^s com- 
pany. It appeared to us, by all accounts, that Gibson was 
guarded by a large body of men, and could in an hour raise 
300 more. Mr. Pinckney and myself thought it prudent 
that I should send orders to the Captains, Pledger, Hicks, 
and M'Intosh, and to the Lieutenants, Clary and Michael, 
to join us with 20 men of each of their Company s,"^ at Mars-- 
bluffy the 15th ins*, under the hopeful expectation of being 
able to prevail on these gentlemen to assist us readily in 



* In the private journal of Rev. Nicholas Bedgegood, then pastor of the 
Welch Neck Church at Long Blufl', this entry appears during the year 1768 : — 
" Sunday, 14th August. No sermon, on acct. of march of ye Companies to 
Mars-hluff." 

Until the letter of Colonel Powell was found, the author had no clue to the 
purport of this entry, and was for a time wholly at a loss to explain it, not having 
heard of the tradition which had come down in the neighhorhood, of Gibson's 
fight at Bass's Mills, &c. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 147 

taking Gibson, Lance, &c. Mr. Pinckney being informed 
that Gibson would surrender himself, and desirous of accom- 
plishing his purpose in the most prudent manner, nor will- 
ing to risk the lives of those of the Kiog^s subjects he had 
Avith him, by opposing them against such unequal numbers, 
agTced with me in opinion, that my inviting Gibson to meet 
me in a certain place in the woods, where he and I might 
be alone, and there talking the matter calmly over with him, 
might perhaps have a good effect. I wrote to Mr. Gibson, 
and met him accordingly, on Sunday, the 14th, where, after 
an hour and an halFs conversation, he solemnly promised 
to deliver himself up to Mr. Pinckney the following Mon- 
day, 8 o^ clock in the forenoon ; and, indeed, I had not the 
least doubt but that the man would have fulfilled his pro- 
mise. However, when the •time came about, I found myself 
egregiously mistaken ; for, instead of coming, he wrote me 
a letter, signifying that he had altered his resolution, and 
would not surrender himself. About 10 o'clock, that day, 
Monday the 15th, Mr. Claudius Pegncs came to Mars-bluff, 
and assured me he would render all the service in his 
power, seemed to know nothing of Gibson's measures, nor 
the intentions of the Captains,"^ Pledger, Hicks and M'ln- 
tosh, and Lieutenants Clary and Michael, who arrived about 
noon; drawing up their company in the woods at half a 
mile's distance from AVeaver's house. Mr. Pegnes then told 
us, they did not intend to advance any further. Whei'e- 
upon, Mr. Pinckney and myself, together with Pegnes, went 
to meet them ; where, to our surprise, we found, instead of 
100, 300 men and ujjwards. I acquainted the officers with 
the occasion of my calling upon them, and the service ex- 
pected from them. 

" Mr. Pinckney also acquainted them with his errand in 
these parts, read to them his authority, and your Honor's 
Proclamation, and demanded their aid accordingly. Which, 
instead of paying any regard to, they absolutely refused, as 



* These were John Pledger, George Hicks, and Alexander M'Intosh, among 
the most prominent and influential men on Pedee, in the neighbourhood of Long 
Bluff, as was John Mikell — and all distinguished afterwards in the Revolution. 
Mr. Pegnes was the first member elect to the Assembly, li'om St. David's, 
showing the estimation in which he was deservedly held. 

L 2 



148 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Gribson, they said, was one of them (Regulators), and had 
applied to them for protection. 

" They said much about certain grievances which they 
conceived themselves labouring under, for the want of County 
Courts, and the exorbitant expense of the Law, as it now 
stands. It was with the greatest difficulty we could per- 
suade them to march to Weaver's, against whom they ex- 
press much resentment. However, as victuals were pro- 
vided for them there, and I was in hopes of bringing them 
into better temper, by taking opportunity of conversing 
with the leading men singly, I put myself at the head, as 
their Colonel, and marched them to Weaver's house, where 
both Mr. Pinckney and myself took great pains to point out 
to them the mistakes they were running into, prompted, as 
it appears evidently to us they ^ere, by some turbulent, de- 
signing persons. Mr. Pegnes seemed to be an active man 
amongst them, and is a person pitched upon to represent 
them in the next General Assembly ; for which purpose, a 
subscription is already set on foot to bear his expenses. To 
enter into a detail of their unprecedented behaviour, would 
be drawing this letter to too great a length, and I must beg 
leave to refer your Honour to Mr. Pinckney. 

" Only I would observe that, notwithstanding T had heard 
much of the notorious behaviour of the Regulators in gene- 
ral, yet, as several of them are men of good property, I 
flattered myself they might be open to conviction, and in- 
duced to admit that the method they were pursuing was 
not the proper mode to bring about their wished-for pur- 
pose; but, to my astonishment, I fouiid all arguments lost 
upon them, and I am ashamed to tell your Honor, that if 
there had not been left amongst them some faint regard 
for their Colonel, the Provost Marshal would have been 
grossly abused, a scheme having been laid for that purpose. 

" These people proposed to Alran,"^ his releasement ; and 



* Of Alran, to whom Colonel Powell here refers, nothing is known. In the 
journal of Mr. Beilgegood, this entry is found : — 

[1768.] " Sunday, 5th June, Mr. Alran taken by the Regulators." 
If he had, prior to this time, made himself obnoxious to the civil authorities, 
and been rescued by the Regulators, it would seem that he was seized a second 
time, and would have been released again had he desired it. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 149 

it was only owiug to himself, the Provost INIarshal could 
bring him to town. 

" Upon the whole, Sir, these disturbances seem to have so 
dismal a tendency, that I am at a loss to guess where they 
may terminate, and I think I may now say with safety, that 
unless some speedy measures are fallen upon to put a stop 
to them, the consequence will be very shocking. I cannot, 
with any propriety, continue to be Colonel of a Regiment 
of Militia, amongst whom I have the mortification to find 
myself of so little weight as not to have been able to per- 
suade them to do the duty they owe to their King and 
Country. I must therefore beg leave to resign my commis- 
sion, and I would have enclosed it to your Honor, but that 
I lost it on my return from Keeowee, in fording Broad 
River. In consequence of my promise, I enclose to your 
Honor a letter from the Officers of the Regiment respecting 
Captain Weaver. 

" I am, with great respect, 

" Honorable Sir, 
'^ Your most obedient, humble Servant, 

" G. G. Powell. 
« Weymouth, 19th August, 1V68." 

"■ His Honor also informed the Board that he had re- 
ceived a copy of a letter, directed to the Provost Marshal, 
which was delivered him by a waggoner in the Back Coun- 
try, threatening his Deputies, if they offered to serve any 
process in those parts, and advising them not to send them 
up, as they were determined to pay no obedience to any 
process issued from Charles-town. His Honor informed 
the Board that he had written an account of these matters 
to his Excellency, the Governor, and that he proposed, in a 
week or ten days^ time, to dissolve the Assembly, and to 
call a new one, which would be ready to meet about the 
time his Lordship might be expected to return into the 
Province.^''* 

The interesting letter of Colonel Powell discloses the fact, 
how much deceived and disappointed he was as to the fcel- 



* " Council Journal," No. 3i, pp. 219-225. 



150 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

ing of the officers and companies from Long Bluff, with 
respect to Gibson and his proceedings, as well as to the 
course of the Government in general. Loyal yet in his 
own sentiments, and not haiing felt, perhaps, as others had 
done, the grievances of which they so justly complained, he 
was at a loss to account for their conduct. His visit to 
Broad Biver was probably made in the service of the Go- 
vernment, to assist in quieting disturbances in that region. 
He appears, after all, to have retained his commission ; and 
what is more remarkable still, not to have forfeited the con- 
fidence and affection of the people on the Pedee, having 
been afterward, for several years in succession, the Repre- 
sentative from St. David^s Parish* in the Commons House 
of Assembly, and cherishing himself, to the close of his 
useful life, the deepest interest in all that related to the 
welfare of that Parish. 

Colonel PowelFs letter also corrects the tradition,! as it 
had come down in a most distorted shape, in the immediate 
neighborhood of the fight, in which Gibson bore so pro- 
minent a part. 

The result, upon the whole, as the aflPair ended, was of 
much importance. The popular feeling became deeper and 
more determined than ever. The line was now, as it was 
henceforth to be, distinctly drawn. And the Government 



* St. David's Parish had been established in April of this year (1768). 

f The tradition was related to the author by the late Hngli Godbold, of 
Marion District, as he had heard it in his younger days from some aged 
persons who were cotempor.iries of Gibson. According to that account, the 
Regulators came down from North Carolina, increasing in numbers as they 
came, and headed by Weaver, White, and Gurley. Crossing the river at 
Mars Ekiff, they went up to what has since been known as Bass's Mill, on 
Naked Creek, where an island was formed by a bend in the Creek, and a 
channel cut across the mouth of the bend for mill purposes. 

On the island they found Gibson strongly posted, at the head of the 
citizens. He defeated them, killing several, taking the rest prisoners, and o-iviii<T 
them fifty lashes a])iece. There is no doubt but that a conflict took place at the 
point described, which was not far from Gibson's residence j but it was that 
between Gibson's party and the Constable's, confounded by the tradition with the 
march of the companies afterward to Mars Bluff, as it was also erroneously 
related that the companies had come down from above under Weaver, Gurley, 
&c. This spot was but a few years after the scene of a bloody conflict between the 
Whigs and Tories in the Revolution, of which some account will be given. The 
author visited the locality in company with Mr. Godbold. The facts above 
related show how, even in a generation or two, past events may be perverted 
by tradition. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CllERAWS. 151 

was from the first, perhaps_, fully aroused to the magnitude of 
the issues involved^ as well as the futility of the measures 
which had been adopted to quell the rising spirit of oppo- 
sition throughout the back parts of the Province. 

His Honor and his Majesty^s Council must have felt 
grave apprehensions now, if never before, that Proclama- 
tions, prosecutions, and official action of whatever kind, 
would be unavailing, if timely concessions were not made 
to the just and long-continued demands of the people. The 
necessity for Circuit Courts could no longer be denied. The 
Government at home, yielding to the pressure which it had 
been unable to resist, lent its active aid in effecting so de- 
sirable an object, and in less than a year, a Bill to that 
effect became law. In the meantime, the Regulators con- 
tinued to meet, and to keep up their organization.^ On 
the 2nd of September, there appeared in the Gazette, the 
following ''extract of a letter from a Gentleman at Pedee, 
to his friend in Town " : — " I wish you would inform me 
Avhat is generally thought in town of the Regulators, who 
now reign uncontrolled in all the remote parts of the Pro- 
vince. In June, they held a Congress at the Congarees, 
where a vast number of people assembled; seyeral of the 
principal settlers on this River^ men of property, among 
them. When these returned, they requested the most 
respectable people in these parts to meet on a certain day ; 
they did so, and, upon the report made to them, they 
unanimously adopted the Plan of Regulation, and are now 
executing it with indefatigable ardour. Their resolution is, 
in general, effectually to deny the Jurisdiction of the 
Courts holden in Charles-town over those parts of the Pro- 
vince that ought to be by right out of it ; to purge, by 
methods of their own, the country of all idle persons, all 
that have not a visible way of getting an honest living, all 
that are suspected or known to be guilty of malpractices, 
and also to prevent the service of any writ or warrant from 
Charles-town ; so that a Deputy Marshal would be handled 
by them with severity. Against those they breathe high in- 

* In Mr. Pugh's journal the following and like entries are found : — " Aug. 
16th. Went over the Marsh to a meeting of the Regulators." " Septr. 12. 
Went to Murphee's. Regulators met there." 



152 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

dignation. They are every day, excepting Sundays, employed 
in this Regulation work, as they term it. They have brought 
many under the lash, and are scourging and banishing the 
baser sort of people, such as the above, with universal 
diligence. 

" Such as they think reclaimable, they are a little tender 
of; and those they task, giving them so many acres to tend 
in so many days, on pain of flagellation, that they may not 
be reduced to poverty, and by that be led to steal from 
their industrious neighbours. This course, they say, they 
are determined to pursue, with every other effectual mea- 
sure, that will answer their purpose ; and that they will 
defend themselves in it to the last extremity. They hold 
correspondence with others in the same plan, and are engaged 
to abide by and support each other whenever they may be 
called upon for that purpose. This, it seems, they are to 
continue till County Courts, as well as Circuit Courts, 
shall be rightly established, that they may enjoy, by that 
means, the rights and privileges of British subjects, which 
they think themselves now deprived of. They imagine that, 
as the Jurisdiction of the Courts in Charles-town extends all 
over the Province, Government is not a protection, but an 
oppression ; that they are not tried there by their Peers ; 
and that the accumulated expenses of a law-suit, or prosecu- 
tion, puts justice out of their power ; by which means the 
honest man is not secure in his property, and villainy be- 
comes rampant with impunity. 

" Indeed, the grievances they complain of are many, and 
the spirit of Regulation rises higher and spreads wider every 
day. What this is to end in, I know not ; but thus matters 
are situated; an account of which, I imagine, is not unac- 
ceptable, though perhaps disagreeable to hear.^'* 

This letter, singularly calm in its tone for a time of such 
general and intense excitement, appears to have been Avritten 
by some one who was yet loyal in his feelings toward the 
Mother Country. 

It may be regarded, upon the whole, as an impartial 
account of the Regulation movement, and exhibits the 



* Gazette, August 26, September 2, 17 



68. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 153 

character of those who were taking the lead in the matter, 
as well as the laudable objects they proposed to accomplish. 
A few days after, September 12th, we find this account in 
the Gazette : — " On Thursday last, the General Assembly of 
this Province was dissolved by Proclamation, and writs for the 
General Election of new Representatives, we hear, will be 
signed and issued on Thursday next : so that it is probable the 
election days may be fixed for Tuesday and Wednesday, the 
4*^ and 5*^*, and the day for the meeting of the next General 
Assembly, for Monday, the 25*^ of next month. The People 
called Regulators have lately severely chastised one Lum, 
who is come to Town ; but we have not yet learnt the real 
cause for this severity to him. A letter from Pine Tree 
Hill (Camden), dated the 6*^ ins*, contains the following 
intelligence, viz. : The Regulators have fixed upon the 5*'* of 
next month to have a meeting here, to draw up their grie- 
vances, in order to be laid before the new Assembly. 2500 
or 3000 of them, from St. Mark's and St. David's Parishes, 
are to rendezvous, on the 10th, at Eutaw, and thence pro- 
ceed to Charles-town, to pursue the proper measures for 
Redress. The Regulators from the Congaree, Broad, and 
Saludy Rivers, are not to proceed to Town, unless sent for by 
their bretliren ; but 1 500 of them are to hold themselves 
in readiness, in case they should be wanted. They do not 
intend the least injury to any person in Town, desiring only 
provision and quarter till their complaints shall be heard. 
The confusion in North Carolina is still greater than in 
this Province ; where the People of Orange County again 
threaten Col. Fanning, and refuse paying any Taxes, till an 
Act, granting an enormous sum for building a House for the 
Governor, be repealed ; so that Gov' Tryon has been obliged 
to draught 2000 men from Mecklenburgh and Dobbs 
Counties, to overawe them, who are to march from the Town 
of Mecklenburgh the 12th ins*. Two of their Leaders have 
been secured, but it's apprehended they will be released before 
they can be brought to Trial, as the People in general com- 
plain loudly of the above-mentioned Act, as a Great Grie- 
vance, as well as of that laying a Duty on Paper, Glass, &c., 
which will soon drain from them what little specie they 
have. Their paper Currency being mostly sunk, and a Poll 



154 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Tax of eleven shillings Proclamation money^ does not fail to 
add to the distresses of that Country/^ 

The next intelligence from the interior was of a more 
cheering character. The Gazette of September 26th says : 
" The People in the Back Settlements of this Country, we 
hear, are now perfectly quiet, having almost thoroughly 
expelled the dangerous set of Horse Thieves and Vagrants 
that were becoming formidable amongst them ; and they 
will probably continue so (his Honor the Lieutenant Go- 
vernor's Proclamation of the 3'''^ ul*°, having had a very good 
effect), until the important crisis of the next General Elec- 
tion, which takes place throughout the Province on Tuesday 
and Wednesday next week ; or, until the Meeting of the 
General Assembly, when, they say, they will, in a Constitu- 
tional way, not only have their Grievances heard, bvifc also 
redressed, so far as it may appear to be in the Power of the 
Legislature. But, the Disturbances in North Carolina have 
not subsided, according to our last accounts from the Back 
Counties in that Province, dated the \Q^^ ins*, his Excel- 
lency, Gov"" Tryon, was then there, and to proceed from 
Salisbury to Orange County, the 22"*^ ins*, but not likely 
to succeed, the People seeming almost iinanimous in refus- 
ing to submit to any Laws that seemed to them oppressive 
or unconstitutional. Further particulars must be deferred 
till our next.'' 

The election for General Assembly was now drawing near, 
and much trouble apprehended by the authorities. But, 
the opportunity being therein presented to the people of 
expressing their own will, such apprehensions proved to be 
groundless. The Gazette of October 10th, said, as to this 
matter : — " Great disorder was apprehended in several 
Country Parishes, at the General Election of Representa- 
tives on Tuesday and Wednesday last, from numbers of the 
People called Regulators coming down from the Back Settle- 
ments to vote, where it appeared to them they had a right ; 
but, we are informed, that they behaved everywhere with 
decency and propriety. 

" They mentioned many intolerable grievances they had 
long laboured under, and seemed to have most immediately 
in view, a more equal Representation in Assembly; the ob- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 155 

tainingj without loss of time, an Act for ascertaining and 
better regulating public officers^ fees, especially in law mat- 
ters ; and, another for establishing County Courts, if the 
Precinct Court law lately sent home, should fail to receive 
the royal approbation." 

The real objects of the Regulators were now understood, 
and justice was at length to be meted out to their motives 
and conduct. The elections had passed oflF quietly, not- 
withstanding the fears of disorder and violence. 

In the Parish of St. David's, recently organized, and 
where the polls were opened for the first time, militia com- 
panies were detailed for each election precinct, to preserve 
the peace, and other precautions used to prevent disturbance. 
But, no disposition was evinced by the people to resort to 
any improper measures. 

The elective franchise was one of those rights which they 
wei'c most anxious to exercise. They were satisfied it would 
result in still more favourable changes. The struggle for 
constitutional liberty thus commenced, was destined, how- 
ever, to continue, and to encounter, at every step of its pro- 
gress, the most determined opposition. 

The news now on the way from England, was to be by 
no means cheering, so misguided was the policy persisted in 
by the Mother Country towards her aggrieved and petitioning 
Colonists. 

The Gazette of October 10th, gave the following informa- 
tion to the public : — " Last Thursday, arrived here the ship 
Beavfain, Cap'' Da^dd Curling, in 45 days from the Downs, 
by whom we have not received a single article of agreeable 
news for North America. Our Circuit Bill, passed the 12th 
of April last, was not likely to receive the Royal assent ; so 
that the Back Settlers, or People called Regulators, in this 
Province, may, in all probability, obtain what they seem 
more anxious to obtain, a Bill for establishing County 
Courts.'' 

" We are informed that the People called Regulators, 
have lately brought back five mortgaged Negroes from North 
Carolina, which were carried ofi" by an absconding debtor 
from Pedee : that, if any creditor is doidjtful of a debt due 
there, and will come amongst them, they have offered to 



156 HISTORY OE THE OLD CHERAWS. 

protect and assist liim in procuring good security for "what- 
ever may be owing ; and, if that cannot be obtained (pro- 
vided he brings a blank writ up), to deliver the debtor 
into the common Gaol : that the alBFair of Gibson^s party in 
July last, has been grossly misrepresented : and that they 
did not rendezvous^ as it was proposed, at Eutaw^ on the 
10th inst." 

Having elected Representatives of their own choice, the 
Regulators were satisfied to leave the redress of grievances 
to them in Assembly, and hence the failure to meet at 
Eutaw, as was intended. The public statement, that the 
affair of Gibson had been grossly misrepresented led to the 
following account in the Gazette of October 24th : " If we 
are to credit the Depositions of George Thompson, William 
Loving, James White, Stephen Sebastian, Godfrey Kerfey, 
John Holloway, Reuben White, and William White, pro- 
duced to us by Robert Weaver, Esq. of Mars-Bluff, the 
conduct of Gideon Gibson was not misrepresented in this 
Paper of 15th August last, unless by the omission of some 
aggravating circumstances.'^ 

So well had the facts of the case been established, how- 
ever, that Gibson and his friends deemed it unnecessary to 
reply to this. Comparative quiet was at length restored. 
The claims of the Regulators were respected and their power 
acknowledged. A general desire was now felt to comply 
with their just demands^ which had been so long urged in 
vain. 

On the 15 th November, the General Assembly met, and 
the inhabitants of St. David's Parish were represented for 
the first time by one of their own choice, in the person of 
Claudius Pegnes, Esq. On 17th Nov'' his Excellency, C. G. 
Montagu, made an address to the Commons House of 
Assembly, of which the following is an extract : — " I shall 
now only recommend to your attention, the falling upon some 
method to retrieve the distresses of your fellow subjects in 
the remote parts of this Province, and, at the same time, to 
discharge, and, if possible, entirely to prevent, for the future, 
such illegal insurrections as have for some months past ap- 
peared in those parts. In every constitutional measure to 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 157 

promote these purposes, I shall cheerfully concurj and will 
strenuously exert myself/' 

In the conclusion of their address, the Assembly made 
this reply : — " Your Excellency may depend on our doing 
everything in our power, to relieve the distresses of our 
fellow-subjects, in the remote parts of this Province, and 
thereby prevent future insurrections ; not doubting of your 
Excellency's cheerful concurrence in every constitutional 
measure that may be thought necessary to answer these good 
purposes : though, at the same time, the House cannot but 
lament, the very little power that is left, by ministerial in- 
structions, in the Legislature of this Province, to remedy the 
capital grievances which these people labour under; parti- 
cularly, the want of Courts of Justice amongst them, the 
want of an equal representation in Assembly, and the exces- 
sive fees of office, and charges of the law." 

This portion of the Assembly's address, while respectful 
in tone, was decided in sentiment, and gave token of the 
last days of Royalty in Carolina. Here was to be seen the 
germ of a spirit which continued to grow, until, a few years 
later, it assumed the form of open opposition and revolu- 
tionary conflict — the Assembly of the Province having 
boldly espoused the cause of his Majesty's injured subjects. 

" The little power left in the Legislature, in consequence 
of ministerial instructions, to remedy the capital grievances 
of the People," was felt more and more,. until these instruc- 
tions ceased to be regarded, and the Governor himself, the 
last vestige of the power of the throne, was forced to fly 
from the City, to a British Man-of-War in the harbour of 
Charles-town. 

The people were not only determined to be independent 
as to Courts of their own. There was a general disposition 
to throw ofi" the yoke, and cherish the spirit of a timely 
self-reliance. This was the case as to many articles of 
manufacture which had been supplied to the Colonies from 
the Mother Country. It will be remembered, that as early 
as December 22nd, 1768, the letter from a gentleman on 
Pedee, to his correspondent in Charles- town, related to this 
matter. He said, '' I expect to see our own manufactures 



158 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

mucli promoted in this part of tlie Province/^ and samples 
of white cotton cloth^ wLicli had been produced in that 
region, were sent to Town for inspection. 

It was stated in the Gazette of March 2nd, 1769, that, 
" Many of the Inhabitants of the North, and Eastern parts 
of this Province have this winter clothed themselves in their 
own manufactures ; many more would purchase them if 
they could be got ; and a great reform is intended in the 
enormous expense attending funerals, for mourning, &c., 
from the patriotic example lately set by Christopher 
Gadsden, Esq., when he buried one of the best of wives, 
and most excellent of women. In short, the generality of 
the People now seem deeply impressed with an idea of the 
necessity, and most heartily disposed, to use every means to 
promote industry, economy, and American Manufactures, and 
to keep as much money amongst us as possible/' 

The next allusion to the subject is found in December of 
the following year (1770), when a most important plan was 
set on foot for promoting the objects just referred to. The 
Gazette of the 29th of Dec""" contained this intelligence : 
" The Committee to consider the ways and means for esta- 
blishing and promoting such manufactures as this Province 
is capable of producing, have already had several meetings. 
It consists of fifteen gentlemen, who have determined to 
begin, by setting forward a General Subscription to raise a 
Fund of Money, towards which themselves have collectively 
subscribed upwards of 2200/. They have chosen Henry 
Laurens, Esq., for their Chairman and Treasurer : and 
Subscription Papers are forthwith to be printed, Avhich, with 
a Circular Letter, are to be despatched to all Parts of the 
Province. This is one of the measures which an unkind 
mother and false brethren have given rise to." 

A non-importation agreement had very generally been 
entered into, and pledges or articles signed, and great dis- 
satisfaction was felt now towards the Northern Colonies, in 
departing from their non-importation agreement — hence the 
action above. 

A meeting was held in Charles-town on the IStli inst. 
(Dec.) and a sub-committee appointed, by the General Com- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 159 

mittee of the friends of liberty^ to consider of every means 
for the encouragement of domestic Manufactures and non- 
impoi'tatiou of tea and various articles of luxury. 

Of the Circular Letter, to be despatched to the different 
parts of the Province^ no trace has been found. But, of 
the Subscription Papers, which were also to be printed and 
sent with the Letter, the following relic appears in a memo- 
randum book^ of the day, viz. : — 

" Subscribed for the Papers : 

£ s. 

Thomas Evans 15 

*Jame8 Hicks 10 

Willi'am Coward (paid £3 5*.) 5 

James Shields 10 

John Adam 10 

*Daniel Walsh 5 

*John Hodges 5 

Philip Singleton 100 

Claudius Pegnes, jun'" 10 

Benj"- Rogers 12 

William Thomas, paid , 20 13 

Charles Sparkes 10 

Fran^- Gillespie 5 

John David 5 

*Charles Mason 150 

■^Thomas Ellerbe 120 

William Ellerbe 7 10 

Isham Hodges 5 

Joseph Dabbs 5 

James Gregg 5 

Moses Murphy 10 

Duke Glen 10 

John Brown 5 

John Hodge (Cashway) (paid £1 17s. Qd.) . 10 

Daniel Sparks 7 



* This old book was found, contnining also other valuable matter, among the 
collection of papers in the possession of Philip Pledger, Esc]., in Marlborough 
District, already referred to. 



160 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

£ s. 

^Thomas Powe 5 

George King 5 

John Hire 5 

Tristram Thomas 5 

^Ben"- James, Cons^^"' 10 

Nathaniel Saunders (paid j69 155.) . . . 15 

*John Thomson 10 

■5^ John O'Neal, paid 10 

Aaron Daniel 100 

Auth"- Pouncy 10 

Rob*- Witherspoon 10 

Thos'- North -50 

Stephen Ford, Jun''- 20 0/'* 

This was, doubtless, but one of the lists of subscriptions 
in the Parish of St. DaAdd. 

The prompt and liberal response of the inhabitants in 
this matter was only one of the many indications of that 
determined spirit by which they were now actuated in the 
struggle for independence. 

Defensive^ not less than offensive, measures were thus set 
on foot for their protection and support. To the latter 
they had become accustomed, and were ready for any fur- 
ther conflict ^hich time might bring about. 

We have sefen how the years 1767 and 1768 were among 
the most eventful in preparing the minds of the people for 
Revolution. In bringing this result to pass, the regulation 
movement and the conflict to which it led, were largely 
instrumental. Though an extreme measure, it must be 
sanctioned by the verdict of history, inasmuch as those, 
who, in the character of humble and loyal subjects of the 
Crown, began to petition as early as 1753 for the redress of 
their grievances, but in vain, were justified in the use of the 
means to which they were driven by necessity. 



* For some time after the discovery of this interesting record, the author 
was greatly at a loss to explain it, the simple heading, " Subscribed for the 
papers" furnishing the only clue to its history. Upon the subsequent dis- 
covery, in the old Oazette of the day, of the plan of the " Circular Letter and 
Subscription Papers," &c., the difficulty was at once removed. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 161 

It was not until every constitutional method was ex- 
hausted, that they were induced to fall back upon those 
rights of man which are inalienable. 

The descendants of the Regulators on the Pedee may 
revert, with honest pride, to this unequal, but finally success- 
ful struggle of their fathers. 



M 



162 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The name of St. David — Some account of it — Welch names — Necessity for n 
parochial organization — Provisions of the Act establishing the Parish of 
St. David — What it contemplated — The first records of the parish — Pro- 
ceedings of Commissioners — Names of voters for parish officers — Election 
of Representative to Assembly— Names of voters — Previous proceedings — 
Second election — ^Names of voters — Colonel G. G. Powell — Account of him — 
Appointment as Judge — Proceedings of Commissioners for building a church 
— Church officers — Efforts to procure a clergyman — Progress of Church 
building — History of it afterward — Successive elections for Representative to 
Assembly — ^Church officers and other officers from year to year — Proceed- 
ings of vestry — Notice of individuals — The close of the parish history — 
Concluding reflections. 

In the year 1768, a name appears for the first time among 
its records, which was ever after to be identified with the 
history of the Pedee. This was St. David,'^ the Tutelar 
Saint of the Welch, given to the first parochial organiza- 
tion which was here established. The '' Welch Neck'' is 
the only other name remaining, to indicate the origin of the 
Colony that led the way in the settlement of this region. 
Unlike the English, French, and Spaniards, who, in their 
first discoveries and settlements in the West, failed not to 
leave many of their distinctive national appellations behind 
them, the Welch were satisfied to give to one locality a 
name that would link it perpetually with the land of their 



* St. David was the most fiimous of all the Welch names. He was a Bishop 
of Wales in the sixth century, celebrated for his learning and piety, and a 
patron of those schools of literature which flourished there at an early period. 
He is supposed to have been, by the mother's siile, of regal descent. His con- 
secration took place at Jerusalem, it being a distracted time at home, and the 
Britons, who were most inclined to devotion, preferring to go thither. His 
domestice ducation is said to have been under Paulinus, a disciple of St. Ger- 
man, in Whlteland, Caermarthenshire. Soon after his return from Jerusalem, 
he attended a famous synod of bishops, abbots, and others, held at a place 
called " Llandein-Brevi," the church of St. David at Brevi ; and here, by his 
authority and eloquence, put an eflcctual stop to Pelagianism, and before the 
end of tlie synod, it is said, was chosen, by general consent. Archbishop of 
Caerleon, and so continued in the exercise of his episcopal functions to the close 
of an honoured life. His day, as a tutelar saint of the Welch, is 1st March. — 
Stillingfleet's " Antiquities," vol. ii. pp. 515-523. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 163 

fathers. They left, however, a better memorial in those 
virtuous princii^les and sturdy traits of character which 
were transmitted to their descendants. 

The population of the upper parts of the Parishes of 
Prince George and St. Mark's, extending on both sides of 
the river to the line of North Carolina, had now reached a 
point demanding a distinct organization of its own. The 
inhabitants of these parts, remote from the parochial centres 
below, could no longer endure the disadvantages and hard- 
ships which their present condition involved, without being 
seriously affected. Application was accordingly made to 
the Assembly, and an Act passed, April 12th, 1768, ''for 
establishing a Parish in Craven County^ by the name of 
St. David, and for appointing Commissioners for the High 
Eoads in the said Parish." 

The Preamble to the Act was in these words : " Whereas, 
the inhabitants residing on Pedee River, in the Parishes of 
St. Mark's and Prince George, in Craven County, have 
represented many inconveniences which they are under for 
want of having a parish laid out and established in the said 
County, and prayed that a law may be passed for that pur- 
pose :" it was therefore enacted — 

" I. That a Parish shall be laid out and established in 
Craven County aforesaid, bounded in the following manner 
(that is to say) by a North-West line to be run from the 
northward-most corner of Williamburg Township to Lynche's 
Creek, and from thence by that Creek to the provincial 
line ; and that the line dividing St. Mark's from Prince 
Frederick's Parish, be carried on in the same course from 
the Great Pedee, where it now ends, to the provincial line 
aforesaid ; by which, together with lines aforesaid, and 
Lynche's Creek, the new Parish shall be bounded, and that 
the said Parish shall hereafter be called and known by the 
name of St. David. 

" II. That a Church, Chapel, and Parsonage house shall 
be built at such places, within the bounds of the said Parish, 
as the major part of the Commissioners hereafter named 
shall order and direct. 

" III. That the Rector or Minister of the said Parish, 
for the time being, shall officiate in the said Church and 

M 2 



164 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Chapel alternately, and shall be elected and chosen in the 
same manner as the Rectors or Ministers of the several 
other parishes in the Province are elected and chosen, and 
shall have yearly paid to him and his successors for ever, 
the same salary as is appointed for the Rector or Minister 
of any other Parish in this Province, (the Parishes of St. 
Philip and St. Michael excepted,) out of the fund appro- 
priated, or to be appropriated for payment of the salaries of 
the Clergy of this Province ; and the public Treasurer, for the 
time being, is hereby authorized and required to pay the 
same, under the like penalties and forfeitures as for not 
paying the salaries due to the other Rectors or INIiuisters of 
the several other parishes in the Province ; and the said 
rector or minister of the said Parish shall have and enjoy 
all and every such privileges and advantages, and to be 
under such rules, laws, and restrictions as the rectors or 
ministers of the other parishes in this Province have and 
enjoy, or are subject and liable unto. 

" IV. That Claudius Pegncs, Philip Pledger, Alexander 
M'Intosh, George Hicks, Thomas Ellerbe, Robert Allison, 
Thomas Lide, Charles Bedingficld, James James, Robert 
Weaver, Thomas Crawford, James Thompson, Thomas Port, 
and Bcnjamiu Rogers, be, and they are hereby appointed. 
Commissioners, or supervisors, for the building of the said 
Church and Chapel, and parsouage-hoiise in the parish of 
St. David ; and they, or a majority of them, are fully 
authorized and empowered to purchase a glebe for the said 
parish, and to take subscriptions, and to receive and gather, 
collect and sue for all such sum or sums of money, as any 
pious or -well-disposed person or persons shall give and con- 
tribute for the purposes aforesaid ; and, in case of the 
death, absence, or refusing to act of any of the said Com- 
missioners, the Church wardens and Vestry of the said 
Parish of St. David, for the time being, shall and may 
nominate and appoint another person or persons to be Com- 
missioner or Commissioners, in the place of such so dead, 
absent, or refusing to act, as to the said Church wardens 
and Vestry shall seem meet, which Commissioner or Com- 
missioners, so to be nominated and appointed, shall have 
the same powers and authorities for putting this Act into 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 165 

execution, to all intents and purposes, as the Commissioners 
herein named. 

" V. That from and immediately after the passing of 
this Aet, the Commissioners herein appointed, &c., do eall 
the inhabitants, &c., together, to choose parisli officers, and 
fix on the most proper places for building the Church and 
Chapel. 

" VI. That from and after the dissolution of the present 
General Assembly, the inhabitants of the parish of St. 
Mark^s (which heretofore chose two members of Assembly), 
and the inhabitants of the Parish of St. David, qualified by 
law for that purpose, shall choose and elect one member 
each, and no more, to represent the said parishes respec- 
tively in General Assembly; any law, usage, or custom, to 
the contrary in any wise not^rithstanding ; and that writs 
for electing members to serve in General Assembly for the 
said parishes, shall be issued at the same time, and in the 
same manner as for the several other parishes in this Pro- 
vince, according to the directions of the Act of the General 
Assembly in that case made and provided. 

" VII. That Claudius Pegnes, Philip Pledger, Alexander 
M'Intosh, George Hicks, Thomas Ellerbc, Robert Allison, 
Thomas Lide, Charles Bedingfield, James James, Robert 
Weaver, Thomas Crawford, James Thompson, Thomas Port, 
and Benjamin Rogers, shall be, and they are hereby ap- 
pointed Commissioners for the high roads in the said parish 
of St. David ; and the said Commissioners, or a majority of 
them, shall have the same power and authorities for laying 
out, and making and keeping in repair, the roads in the said 
parish, and shall be subject and liable to the like penalties 
and forfeitures as the Commissioners for the high roads in 
the other parts of this Province have, or are subject and 
liable unto by the laws of this Province ; and in case any of 
the Commissioners appointed by this Act, sliall happen to 
die, depart the Province, or refuse to act, it shall and may 
be lawful for the remainder of the Commissioners, or a 
major part of them, to nominate or appoint another Com- 
missioner or Commissioners, in the room of him or tlicm, 
so dying, departing the Province, or refusing to act, and the 
Commissioner or Commissioners, so nominated and appointed. 



166 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

shall have the same power and authorities^ and be subject to 
the same penalties and forfeitures as the Commissioners ap- 
pointed by this Act/'* 

The organization here contemplated^ was ecclesiastical, 
according to the Act of 1706^ commonly called the Church 
Act, for the establishment of religious worship, according to 
the Church of England, and for erecting Churches, support- 
ing ministers, &c. It also embraced, in part, the manage- 
ment of the civil affairs of the Parish, as it was made the 
duty of the Vestry, by Act of 1712,t to nominate yearly 
Overseers of the poor of the Parish, as well as to exercise 
other functions strictly civil. The Overseers of the poor, 
Avith the Churchwardens, were to have the ordering and 
relieving of the poor committed to them, out of such monies 
as might be given for that purpose, or raised by assessments 
laid on the inhabitants of the Parish. The Vestry was also 
to bind out orphan children as apprentices ; and by Act of 
1721, J it was made the duty of Churchwardens to provide 
for the election of Members of Assembly. 

This was the only parochial organization known at the 
time, and was therefore so ordered as to provide for all the 
wants and exigencies of the Parish. 

The first record following the passage of the Act, esta- 
blishing the parish of St. David, opens the journal§ of the 
proceedings of the Vestry, and is in these words ; " The 
General Assembly of the Province of South Carolina having 
passed an Act, bearing date day of , for 

making a new Parish out of part of the parishes of St. jNIark, 
Prince Frederick, and Prince George; || the following gentle- 



* " Statutes at Large," vol. iv. p. 300. 
t " Public Laws," p. 104. J " Public Laws," p. 113. 

§ Tbe old Parisli Book, of later years among tbe records in possession of the 
vestry, was found by the late Rev. Andrew Fowler at the residence of Mrs. 
Sarah Pegnes, of Chesterfield District, whose husband was a son of one of the 
fii'st vestrymen. 

Mr. Fowler made a visit to St. David's as a missionary, in December, 1819, 
and was afterwards appointed for a longer perio<.l. On one occasion, while 
searching among the old books and papers at Mrs. Pegnes's this interesting and 
valuable record was found. Mr. Fowler was a faithful and devoted minister of 
(,'hrist, planting the Church and building it up in not a few places where it had 
gone to decay. He died at a very advanced age, a few years since. 

II It will be observed, that the Act is here said to have been passed for 
making a new parish out of part of the parishes of St. Mark, Prince Frederick, 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 167 

men were, by the said Act, appointed as Commissioners for 
the said Parish, which, by the Act, is appointed to go by the 
Name of the Parish of St. David'"' — and the list of names 
is then given. 

On Monday, August 1st, the Commissioners met, accord- 
ing to public notice, at the house of Charles Bediugfield ;^ 
when Alexander M'^Intosh, James James, and Robert Alli- 
son, declined acting in the affairs of the Church. f The 
following parish officers were elected, viz. : Claudius Pegnes, 
Philip Pledger, William Godfrey, Charles Bediugfield, Thomas 
Lide, Thomas Ellerbe, and Thomas Bingham, Vestrymen; 
Alexander Gordon and Benjamin Rogers, Churchwardens ; 
Durham Hitts was appointed Clerk. The oath of office was 
administered the next day. 

The names of those who voted for Vestrymen and Wardens 
were as follows, viz. : " William Hardwick, Duke Glen, John 
Mackintosh, John Jenkins, Edward Ellerbe, John Hus- 
bands, Thomas Boatwright, Sen., John Pledger, Robert 
Anderson, Robert Clary, Benjamin Jackson, James Knight, 
Samuel Wise, James Thorsby, Thomas Williams, Thomas 
Wade, and Leonard Dozier — in all 18.^' 

The next matter which engaged attention was the elec- 
tion of a Member to the Commons House of Assembly, as to 
which the following entries appear upon the Journal of the 
Vestry : — 

" Monday, September 26th, 1768. 
"The writs of election of a Member of Assembly for 
the Parish of St. David having been sent up from Charles- 
town, twenty-six advertisements were sent to the different 
parts of the Parish, requiring the ajjpearance of the inha- 
bitants of the said Parish at Mr. John Mackintosh's,^ on 



and Prince George. From tbis it would appear tbat, according to tbe under- 
standing of tbe inhabitants at tbe time, " Prince Frederick" did extend over, 
forming a part of tbe territory east of tbe Pedee. Tbe confusion on this subject 
in tbe Acts of Assembly has been mentioned. 

* Tbis was at what is now known as Irby's Mills, in Marlborough District, on 
tbe public road from Cbcraw to BennettsviUe, and three miles from tbe former place. 

t These gentlemen lived some distance below on tbe river, and two of them 
were of other religious connexions. 

J This was just above Cock Run, about two miles below Long Bluff, on the 
public road leading thence to George-town, called long afterward tbe " Old 
River Road," where the traces of the first settlement are BtiU to be seen. 



]G8 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Tuesday ; and at Mr, Cliarles Bodingficld's, on AVcdncsday, 
tlic fourth and filtli days of October, ensuing ; Heing the 
Days appointed for tlie Election of a Member to represent 
the Parish in the Commons House of Assembly. 

" Likewise, Circular JjeUers were writ to the Captains, 
James Knight, James Thomas, Thomas (yonner, and ]ien- 
jamin Jackson ; and to INIcssrs. John Kind)rough, William 
AVatkins, Ivobert Lide, and (lideou (Jibson, with two or three 
of the Advertisements of the Election enclosed in each, to 
put up at the most Public Places in their respective Districts, 
and a desire to bring their Comi)auies, under their proper 
leaders, to the Places of Election, to prevent confusion/'* 

The Advertisement was as folloAvs : 

" The Inhabitants of the Parish of St. David arc required 
to meet on Tuesday, the Fourth Day of October, ensuing, 
at the House of Mr. John IVtackintosh, and on AVcdnesday, 
the fifth day of the same mouth, at the House of Mr. Charles 
Bcdingfield, in order to Elect a JMcmbcr of Assembly for 
the said Parish. The Hours of Election to be from ten in 
tlie forenoon to four in the afternoon. 

" By Order of the Church wardens, 

" DUKIIAM HiTTS, C.P. 
" September 26th, llG8." 

The Circular Letter was as folloMs : 

" Sir, — You liave Enclosed Advertisements, for Electing 
a Member of Assembly for this Parish. Please to circulate 
them to the most convenient Places. Yon are desired by 
tlie Captains, Pledger, Hicks, Lide, &c., for the Honor of 
the Parish, to bring as many Voters as you possibly can to 
the Place of I'.lcction, where they will meet you with each 
of their Companies. 

" They also desire that you will keep and bring up the 
People under their proper Leaders, in order to prevent con- 



* This prooantioii, it will be reinonibered, resulted from the apprehension 
on the ])art of the (loveriimeut that ilistvirbancos might eiisiio in consequence 
of the previous lu-tiou of the Regulators, and t/ie fear, in particular, that 
nunjbers of tlunn might come down from North Carolina to overawe the law- 
abiiling citizens, as these last were esteemed, and thus the general state of 
iilarm and confusion be increased. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 169 

fusion. They hope that you will, on this occasion, exert 
yourself to the utmost of your power. 
" I am, Sir, 

" Your humble Servant, 

" Durham Hitts, C.P. 
« September 26th, 1768." 

The foregoing Circular Letters were directed for forward- 
ing to Mr. John Kimbrough, as follows : 

" Sir, — As the time is so short between our receiving the 
writs of Election, and the time for Electing of a Member 
for this Parish (as you will see in the Letter directed to 
you), you will do a good piece of service to the Public, in 
causing the Letters enclosed, directed to the Captains, 
Thomson and Knight, and to Mr. Watkins and Mr. Gibson, 
to be conveyed to them as speedily as possible. 
" I am. Sir, 

" Your humble Servant, 

'' DUKHAM HlTTS, C.P.'^ 

" September 2fith, 1768." 

'^ Tuesday, October the Fourth, 1768. The Poll for the 
Election of a Member of Assembly for the Parish of St. 
David, in Craven County, South Carolina, was opened at 
the House of Mr. Mackintosh, and the following Persons 
voted, viz. : 

" Bartholomew Ball Bichard Pouder 

Simon Holmes Francis M^Call, Jun. 

John Benynolds Thomas Harry 

William Reeves John Mackintosh 

John Holley Charles M'Call 

William Lucas Roderick M'lver 

John Jamieson John Evans 

Robert Clary Daniel Devonald 

Samuel Sparks Thomas James 

Lewis Rowan Alexander Mackintosh 

Charles Strother Philip Howell 

John Davis Edward Lowther 

John Courtney Francis M'Call 

Malachi Newberry Gideon Parish 

Thomas Evans William Edwards 



170 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



John M'Call 
Jolin Cheeseborough 
Richard Blizard 
Nathaniel Douglass 
Thomas Davidson 
John Prothero 
Evans Prothero 
James Knight 
James Rogers 
Joseph Dabbs 
Peter Kolb 
John Kimbroiigh 
John Cooper 
David Harry 
William Dewitt 
William Allen 
Andrew Hunter 
John M'Call 
Christopher Teal 
George King 
Josiah Evans 
Joseph Luke 
Samuel Wilds 
John Rowell 
Dennis Galphin 
Benjamin Pruiel 
Thomas Edwards 
John Griffith 
John Knight 
Philip Pledger 
James James 
Daniel Man 
Magnus Corgill 
William James 
John Dyer 
John Marsha 
Thomas Levy 
Robert Blair 
Lewis Blalock 



Daniel Luke 
David Harry 
Joshua Douglass 
Jacob Lamplugh 
Howel James 
Joseph Barker 
Isam Ellis 
William Tyrrell 
Abel Edwards 
James Bruce 
Wilham Pouncey 
John Jackson 
Joshua Edwards 
John Brown 
Enoch Luke 
Jenkin David 
Richard Allen 
Philip Rob] and 
Abel Wilds 
Edward Jones 
Benjamin Wright 
Gilbert Moody 
Thomas Lane 
William Megee 
Samuel Evans 
Martin Kolb 
Robert Lide 
Joseph Alison 
John Alran 
John Brown 
John Flanagan 
Job Edwards 
Richard INIc La More 
Anthony Pouncey 
Duke Glen 
Joshua Hickman 
David Evans 
Walter Downes 
Aaron Daniel 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



171 



John Bruce Martin Dewitt 

James Dozier John Darby. 

" Number of Voters this Day, 113/' 

'' Wednesday, October 5th, 1768. The Poll for Electing 
of a Member of Assembly for the Parish of St. David, in 
Craven County, South Carolina, was opened at the House 
of Mr. Charles Bedingfield, and the following Persons voted, 
viz. : — 



'^ Thomas Boatright 
Lewis Gardiner 
William Carter 
Benjamin James 
John Purvis 
Charles Bedingfield 
Enoch James 
Jesse Counsell 
William Gardiner 
John Pledger 
John Williams 
John Jenkins 
Abraham Colt 
William Ellerbe 
Thomas Ellerbe 
Enoch Thomson 
Edward Ellerbe 
Charles Irby 
Alexander Gordon 
Peter Heathy 
John Frazier 
Thomas Sommerlin 
John Williams 
William Hardwicke 
Thomas Lide 
John Husbands 



Samuel Hatfield 
John Jones 
William Johnson 
Thomas Williams 
William Hicks 
John Beverley 
George Hicks 
John Lyons 
John Sutton 
Edward Bryan 
Benjamin Rogers 
Thomas Bingham 
William James 
Thomas Conner 
Kedar Keaton 
William Godfrey 
George Sweeting 
John MofiTatt 
John Westfield 
Jonathan Wise 
John Shumake 
John Hicks 
Thomas Rogers 
Samuel Williams 
John Pow 
William Hernsworth 



Jonathan Williams 

" Number of Voters this Day, SS.-" 



Claudius Pegnes, Esqr., was unanimously elected a 



172 HISTORy OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Member of Assembly for tbe Parish of St. Da\"i(l^Sj all the 
Votes for both Days being for him. 

" The Votes for the first Day were . .113 

y, the second Day . . 53 



The full number of Votes were . . 166"^ 

To have been elected their first representative by a 
unanimous vote, was a singiJar mark of the esteem and 
confidence entertained for Mr. Pegnes by his fellow-citizens, 
and more particularly so as he had not been very long a 
resident among them. He came to Pedee about eight years 
before, and was now in his forty-ninth year — an active, 
prudent, and useful man. Retiring in his disposition and 
habits, he withdrew, after serving one term in Assembly, to the 
more congenial pursuits of private life — continuing, however, 
as he had ever been, faithful and untiring in his devotion to 
the public good and the rights of the people. 

With the account of this election closes the Parish record 
for 1768. The proportionate numbers, voting respectively 
at the two polls, indicate a large preponderance of popu- 
lation in the lower parts of the Parish. These embraced 
the two principal settlements of the Welch, near Long 
Blufi", and the Sandy Blufi" neighbourhood below, which 
continued for many years after, to maintain the ascendancy. 
The record of the year 1769 opens with the order for the 
election of a new Member of Assembly, " the last Assem- 
bly, '■' it was said, " having been dissolved by his Excellency, 
the Governor of South Carolina, almost as soon as called.^' 
New writs of election were sent up to the churchwardens, 
February 25th, and the election ordered for the 7th and 8th 
of March, at the same places as in the former year. At the 
lower poll, 98 votes were cast, and among them were the 
following names which did not appear at the former elec- 
tion, viz. : — 

Daniel Saunders Jordan Gibson, jun. 

— Saunders Reuben Gibson 

John Rothmahler Nathaniel Hunt 

Nicholas Bedgcgood Daniel Sparks 

Daniel jSIonahan Thomas Avery 

John Crawford Charles Sparks 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS. 



173 



James Mikell 
Solomon Staples 
Robert Moody 
Moses Bass 
Joshua Lucas 
Malaclii Murphy 
Arthur Hart 
William McTierre 
Stephen Sebastian 
Edward Owens 
•Samuel Haselton 
At the upper poll 59 votes were cast^ and among them^ 
certain names for the firsts viz. : — 



Walter Owens 
Harrison Lucas 
Charles Lisenby 
John Hitchcock 
John Crews 
Blundell Curtis 
John Mikell 
William Floyd 



George Booth 
Jacob Baxter. 



Rebecca Lide 
Catharine Little 
Francis Benton 
Simon Lundy 
Cornelius Acmens 
Robert Westfield 
John Perkins 
Elizabeth Coansell 
Michael Griffith 
Samuel Hards 
W"" Gardiner, jun. 
Silas Harandine 
Francis Gillespie 
James Salmons 
James Lundy 
Jacob Johnson 
Richard George 



Daniel Lundy 
Benjamin Ladd 
William Lankford 
Sarah Booth 
Abel Wilds 
William Crowley 
Thomas Wade 
William Prestwood 
Soloman Holmes - 
Frederick Kimbell 
Joel Yarborough 
William Jackson 
Thomas Tomkins 
David Davidson 
Joseph Parsons 
Thomas Williams on 



William Hayes.'^ 
At this election, Col. George Gabriel Powell received 154 
of the 157 votes cast, and was consequently returned as the 
new member for St. David^s. It is the first time that the 
name of Col. Powell appears in connexion with the Parish of 
St. David, though shortly afterwards to become so promi- 
nent in all the leading events of its history. He had been 
for some time in command of the Craven County Regiment. 
On the 1 0th of August, of this year, he was appointed one 
of his Majesty^s Judges for the Courts of General Sessions 
and Common Pleas, and took his seat on the Bench the 16th 



174 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

October following, retaining it until 1773, when he \vas 
superseded. 

The change was then doubtless made in consequence of 
his manly independence and unflinching devotion to the 
rights of the Colonists. He did not sympathize sufficiently 
Avith the Crown, though a loyal subject, as his course with 
reference to the difficulty at Mars Bluff, of the prcAious 
year, very clearly indicated, as it did also a want of co-ope- 
ration on his part with the Regulators and a misunderstand- 
ing of their movement. 

His first charge from the Bench was spoken of in' the 
public Prints of the day, as having given universal satis- 
faction. 

On Easter Monday, March 27th, at a meeting of the fi'ee- 
holders of the Parish, at the house of Charles Bedingfield, 
the church officers of the previous year were re-elected. It 
was not until the 23rd of September following (1769) that the 
Commissioners appointed under the Act of Incorporation, 
for that purpose, held a meeting with reference to the erec- 
tion of a Church Building. In consequence, however, of 
some informality in the notice calling them together, there 
was not a full attendance, and nothing was done. It was 
agreed by those present, viz., Claudius Pegnes, Robert Alli- 
son, Benjamin Rogers, Philip Pledger, Thomas Lide, Thomas 
Ellerbe, and Charles Bedingfield, that the Commissioners 
should meet again on the 25th of October ensuing; but, 
owing probably to the engrossing events of the time, or dif- 
ferences of opinion as to the location of the Church, no 
meeting was held, or at least no farther entry appears on 
the records of the Parish, until Feb. 1st, 1770. 

On that day, at a meeting of the Vestry and Wardens, Ely 
Kershaw was appointed a Commissioner in the place of Robt. 
Allison, deceased. And on the 22nd of the same month, 
an agreement was executed in due form, between Thomas 
Bingham, of the one part, and Ely Kershaw, Philip Pledger, 
George Hicks, Thomas Lide, Benjamin Rogers, Charles 
Bedingfield, Thomas Ellerbe, and Claudius Pegnes, Commis- 
sioners, of the other part, for the building of the Parish Church. 
It was to be erected on the south-west side of Pedee River 
(at Cheraw Hill), upon land given for that purpose by Ely 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 175 

Kershaw, and completed on or before the first day of March, 
1772. In consideration whereof, the said Commissioners 
agreed to pay the sum of Two thousand six hundred pounds 
currency, one half when the building should be raised, en- 
closed, and covered ; and the other half upon its completion. 

It was also provided, by additional agreement, that alter- 
ations might be made in the stipulated plan, if agreeable to 
both parties. 

It does not appear that a Glebe was ever set apart, or any 
steps taken towards the erection of a Parsonage. This was 
doubtless owing to the failure to procure a settled clergyman. 

On the 30th of April, of this year (1770), at a meeting 
of the Freeholders of the Parish, the following gentlemen 
were elected Church officers, viz. : — John Kimbrough, Ely 
Kershaw, Jesse Counsell, Samuel Wise, Henry William Har- 
rington, John Pledger, and William Ellerbe, Vestrymen : 
William Godfrey and William Pegnes, Wardens. 

The important subject of procuring a Parish Clergyman 
had already engaged attention. 

During a part of this year, the Rev. James Foulis"^ offi- 
ciated, but remained a short time only in the Parish. " The 
Rev. Mr. Hogart, of England, was next invited to this Cure ; 
but not accepting it, application was made, in 1772, to the 
Rev. Mr. Robinson to officiate, and if approved of, the Vestry 
would recommend him for Holy Orders,^' It is probable 
that this gentleman was a minister of some other communion. 
The Journals are silent as to the result. f 

The church building Avas not completed until some time 
subsequent to the spring of 1774, as appears from the fact 
that its unfinished state was made the subject of present- 
ment by the grand jury of Cheraw District, as will be seen 
hereafter. 

It was opened, however, for public worship as early as 
December 1772, J and continued to be used in common by 



* Mr. Foulis had charge of St. Helena parish, Beaufort, durinpf the latter 
part of lV78. It is not known how long he remained, or what became of him 
afterwards. 

t Dalcho's " Church of So. Ca." p. 327. 

X The Rev. Evan Pugh speaks in his private journal of having officiated there 
ill the parish church. 



176 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

the denominations around^ as religious ministrations could 
be had at that early period. 

It was almost a half century afterward before it was 
restored to its original use and design as an Episcopal 
Church. During its common occupancy the burden of its 
repairs was borne by the inhabitants generally ; and as a 
consequence, when an exclusive claim was set up in the year 
1819 to its possession, no little feeling was aroused, and 
there was for a time a determination to resist it. The 
original Act for the Organization of the Parish and the 
proceedings under it, were either unknown or lost sight of, 
and having been so long occupied and repaired in common, 
it is not surprising that a feeling of strong opposition was 
excited. The discovery, however, of the old Parish records 
and subsequent investigation, cleared the whole matter up, 
and the claim was fully established. It was described 
many years after as a neat church, " a frame building, on a 
brick foundation, 53 feet long, 30 wide, and 16 high in the 
clear, with a cove ceiling, and arched windows. The chan- 
cel 10 feet by 6." Subsequently to the year 1819 the 
interior arrangements were materially altered, the chancel 
being removed from the side, as it was at first, to the east 
end, and other changes made. A porch was also added, 
with a beautifully proportioned steeple. 

For a short time, during the summer of 1781, it was 
occupied by British soldiers, and not a few of them, it is 
said, who fell victims to the climate, lie buried in one com- 
mon grave under the shadow of its portals. 

Unharmed by the ravages of time, the venerable building- 
still remains, one of the few material relics left us of that 
era. It was erected by the sturdy men of that day with 
the care befitting such a work, and upon a sure foundation. 
There has been wonderful progress since in every depart- 
ment of human labour — but a progress rather in matters of 
outward adornment than in those durable elements and 
that thorough finish which are calculated for lasting use. 

The affairs of the Parish continued to be administered 
with regularity, though becoming more local and circum- 
scribed than was anticipated at the time of its organization. 
After the appointment of Col. Powell as one of the Assis- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 177 

tant Judges, there appears to liave been no further election 
for Members of Assembly until March, 1772, when Col. 
Charles Augustus Steward was returned. A new election 
having been ordered in September following, for the 
Assembly, which was to meet in Beaufort, 8th Oct., Col. 
Stewart was again successful, after an exciting contest. 
There was now a deepening conviction in the minds of the 
people, that their representatives would shortly be called to 
contend in a decisive struggle for every constitutional right. 
The powers of Royalty and of popular sovereignty were 
being rapidly arrayed. There was a premonitory feeling, in 
short, though with no clear conception as to the course 
events would take, that momentous changes were approach- 
ing. 

Col. Stewart retained his seat but for one session. In 
December Col. Powell was again returned. He was re- 
elected the following February. Up to this time, and for a 
year later, the Commons House of Assembly consisted of 
48 members. It was summoned to meet, February 23rd, 
1773, and dissolved for the last time by Royal authority 
1st Sept. 1775. During the intervening period Col. Powell 
continued to represent the Parish of St. David, and was the 
able and faithfid guardian of its rights. He is supposed to 
have practised at the Bar of Cheraw District ; but, though 
owning property in it, never had his residence within its 
limits. With his name closed the list of Representatives 
of St. David under the old regime.* 

At a meeting of the Freeholders of the Parish, April, 1771, 
the following officers were elected, viz. : Jesse Counsell, 
Ely Kershaw, Charles Bedingfield, Samuel Wise, Thomas 
Wade, William Godfrey, and John Westfield, Vestrymen : 
Thomas Lide and Thomas Ellerbe, Wardens : George Hicks, 
Daniel Lundy, and John ISIitchell, Overseers of the poor. 
The list of paupers was increasing, and their support formed 
the chief biu'den of the Parish. At a meeting of the war- 
dens and vestry, Feby. 18th, 1772, it was agreed that the 
inhabitants should be taxed 2s. 6d. for every 100 acres of 
land, and the same amount for all negro slaves, free- 



* Drayton's " Memoirs," vol. i. p. 102. 



178 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

ncgrocSj Mulattoes, and Mestizoes, to defray the expense of 
nuuutainin^- the pooi* of the Parish. William Godfrey and 
Charles liodiugfield were appointed to eollcct the same. 
The surplus, if any, was to he paid into the hands of the 
churclnvardens. The following Church Offieers were 
elected, April .'20th, 1772, viz. : James Kelly, Daniel Lundy, 
Jacob Johnson, John Kimhrongh, William White, William 
Dewitt, and John Jackson, A'estrymen : Thomas Wade and 
AV'"' Henry jSlills, AYardcns : George Ilicks, ]\Ialachi INInrphy, 
and llohert Anderson, Overseers of the poor. Nothing of 
special interest appears among the Parish records of this year. 
Public aflairs were becoming more and more the engrossing- 
topic of thought and conversation, the Parochial Officers 
giving their attention only to the care of the poor, and the 
appointment of assessors and collectors of the Parish taxes. 

On Easter INIonday, April l.'2tli, 1773, were elected, 
Charles Augustus Steward, Claudius Pcgnes, Ely Kershaw, 
Jesse Counsell, Thomas Lidc, Thomas Ellerbe, and William 
Dewitt, Vestrymen : Philip Pledger and Samuel W^ise, 
Wardens : Alexander Gordon, Malachi INInrphy, and John 
Blakcncy, Overseers of the poor. The meetings of the 
vestry Avere more frequent than during the previous year, 
the care of the poor increasing upon them. The sum of 
357/. 13*. was expended in 1772; and in more than one 
instance 60/. had been appropriated to a single individual — 
a liberal amount for a sparse population, with limited means 
at their command. 

On Easter INIonday, April Ith, 1774, the Church Officers 
elected were as follows, viz. : Henry Counsell, John Andrew, 
Thomas Bingham, Burwell Boyakin, Aaron Daniel, John 
Hewstess, and AVilliam Henry Harrington, A'^estrymcn : 
Claudius Pcgnes and Ely Kershaw, Wardens : John Kim- 
broiTgh, Charles Evans, jnn., and Thomas Conner, sen.. 
Overseers of the poor. 

Thomas AVilliams, George Ilicks, and William Ellerbe, 
wei'e appointed Parish Assessors, to defray the expenses of 
the preceding year. The name of Thomas Lide was sub- 
sequently inserted in the place of George Ilieks. A tax of 
3a'., current money, Avas laid on every 100 acres of land ; 
also, for all negro slaves, free negroes, Mulattoes and Mes- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 179 

tizoes. Philip Pledger and Samuel Wise were appointed to 
collect the same. 

The same tax was levied the next ycar^ and Claudius 
Pcgnes and Ely Kershaw were appointed Collectors. At a 
meeting of the Vestiy on this occasion (April, 1775), the 
name of Cliatham, instead of " Chcraw " and '' Charraws/^ 
as heretofore, appears for the first time in ' the Parish re- 
cords. The change was made in honour of the Earl of 
Chatham, the eloquent advocate of American rights. 

The following Church Officers were elected April 24th, 
1775, viz. : Aaron Pearson,"^ William Dcwitt, William 
Ellerbe, William Strother,t John Westfield, John Jackson, 
and Charles Irby, Vestrymen : Heniy William Harrington 
and William Pcgnes, Wardens : Daniel Sparks, Robert 
Lowry,J and William Allen, Overseers of the poor. 

After this time, scarcely anything more than the annual 
election of officers, the provision for the Parish taxes, and 
the care of orphans, appears in the records. 

In 1776, the officers elected were, William Ellerbe, 
Francis Gillespie, Capt. John Blakeny^ Thomas Powe, Mat- 
thew Saunders, Capt. Lafayette Benton, and Buckley Kim- 
brough, Vestiymen : Col. George Pawley and Claudius 
Pegnes, Wardens : Alexander Deau Bois and Peter Roach, 
Overseers of the poor. 

For 1777, the following : John Kimbrough, Thomas Lide, 
James Hicks, Thomas Powe, William Pegnes, Joseph Grif- 
fith, and Robert Lowry, Vestrymen : John Andrews and 
Charles Irby, Wardens : Benjamin Jackson, John Pledger, 
and John Jackson, Overseers of the poor. 

At a meeting of the Wardens and Vestry, 21st June, 
1777, it was resolved, "That a letter should be written to 



* The Pearsons settled on the east side of the river, in what is now Murl- 
borough District, on a valuable tract of land, known afterwards and from an 
early day as the " Big Plantation." Moses Pearson was a noted captain in 
the Revolution. 

■j- William Strothcr, whose name ajipears here for the first time, was a son 
of Charles Strother, who emigrated from Virginia to Charles-town, and died 
there. William Strothcr moved to Cheraw not long before this period. He 
married, first, a iMiss Rogers, daughter of IJenjamin Rogers, and afterwards, 
Lucy Iliclis, a daughter of Colonel Clcorgc Hicks. 

+ The Lowrys settled in the ujjpcr piirt of what is now Chesterfield Dis- 
trict, — a name long and respectably known in its history. 

N 2 



180 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

tte Rev. Mr. Winchester^* to preach a sermon^ on Satur- 
day^ the 28th instant^ on the happy deliverance of the State 
from our cruel and oppressive enemies^ 28th June, 1776." 

It was the first anniversary of that auspicious event, and 
the hearts of the people were full of gratitude to Him, who 
rided the destinies of nations, and in the hour of their first 
great conflict had given them the victory. 

In the spring of the following year, the same tax as be- 
fore was laid, and Charles Irby and William Pegnes were 
appointed Collectors. 

The Church Officers for 1778 were, Benjamin Hicks, sen., 
Claudius Pegnes, jun., William Thomas, Francis Gillespie, 
Thomas Ellerbe, William Ellerbe, and John Speed, Vestry- 
men : Benjamin Hicks, jun., and William Lide, Wardens : 
Benjamin Rogers, Tristram Thomas and William Blassin- 
game, were appointed Overseers of the Poor. The foregoing 
continued in ofiice until the spring of 1780. 

The following was the record of Parish Officers until 
1785 :— 

For 1780. 

Wm. Pegnes and Benj. Hicks, Sen. . Wardens. 
Claudius Pegnes, Jr., Thos. Powe,' 

Charles Irby, John Westfield, John 

Andrews, John Wilson, and Holden 

Wade . . . . ^ 

John Husbands, Guthridge Lyons.) „ „ _ 

1 T, . . T 1 r Overseers of Poor, 

and iienjamm Jackson . .] 

Jesse Baggette .... Clerk. 

1781. 

Wm. Pegnes, and Benj. Hicks, Sen. . Wardens. 
Charles Irby, Claudius Pegnes, Jr.,] 

John Westfield, Holden Wade, and [Vestrymen. 

John Wilson . . . .J 

Guthridge Lyons . . . . Overseer of Poor. 

1782. 
Thos. Ellerbe and Wm. Strother . Wardens. 



Vestrymen. 



* Mr. Winchester was the pastor of the Welch Neck Church, and an ardent 
friend of his country. 



-Vestrymen. 



Vestrymen. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 181 

Charles Irby, Claudius Pegnes^ Jr.,] 

John Westfield, John Wilson, Wm. [Vestrymen. 

Lide, Wm. Dewitt, and Wm. Pegnes j 

1783. 
Thomas Powe, and Claudius Pegnes, Jr., Wardens. 
Charles Irby, John Andrews, Thos. 

Ellerbe, Benj. Hicks, Jr., Robert 

Pasley, Jas. Gillespie, and Lemuel 

Benton . . . . 

1784. 
Benj. Hicks, Sen., and Wm. Pegnes . Wardens. 
Thos. Ellerbe, Wm. Strother, John\ 

Westfield, Claudius Pegnes, Jr., John 

Wilson, Benj. Hicks, Jr., and Wm. 

Ligate . . . . .^ 

1785. 
Col. Lemuel Benton, and Capt. Calvin] .^ , 

Spencer . . . . .] 

Thos. Powe, Wm. Ellerbe, Sen., John] 

Andrews, Holden Wade, Wm. J- Vestrymen. 

Pegnes, and Morgan Brown . . ) 

With this year (1785), upon the division of the Parish* 
into Counties, and the establishment of County Courts, the 
parochial organization ceased to exist. No further records 
appear until after the year 1819, when the Parish was 
revived as before mentioned, under Rev. Mr. Fowler. Upon 
the prorogation of the Assembly in April, 1770, a Bill was 
under consideration for altering the bounds of St. David^s 
Parish. It appears to have been subsequently abandon ed, 
and of its provisions nothing is known. 

Amid the changes of time and civil rule, only the old 
Parish Church remained to tell its tale in the associations 
and traditions connected with its earlier days. It had been 
polluted by the tread of invading foes, and resounded with 
the shock of arms. Around it lie the dead of successive 
generations. But a year or two more, and its first century 
will be completed. 

Long may it stand, a touching relic of the past, tlie 
spiritual home and joy of many in the present, and to be 
open, as of old, to others yet to come ! 



182 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Parochial organization inadequate — Disturbances continue — The Moderators 
and Regulators — Circuit Courts growing in favour — Governor's address on 
the subject — Circuit Court Bill passed by Assembly — Governor refuses his 
sanction — Again passed and made a law — Its provisions — Boundaries of 
Cheraw District — Times for holding courts — Commissioners for building 
court house and gaol — Their proceedings — Cheraw Hill selected — Petition 
of Freeholders, &c., against it, and in favour of Long Bluff — Counter peti- 
tion — Memorial of commissioners to Assembly sustaining their action — 
Assembly decides for Long Bluft" — Lieutenant Governor's order to Commis- 
sioners — Their error — p]ffect of Courts — The buildings progress — Distur- 
bances revived — Last affair of the kind on Pedee — Court house finished — 
Account of it — Officers, how appointed — Persons selected — Opening of 
Court at Long Bluff — Presentments of grand jury, November, 1772 — Pre- 
sentments in April, 1773 — Reflections on same — Presentments in Xovember, 
1773 — Published accounts — Presentments April, 1774 — Early history ot 
Bar of the Old Cheraws. 

Going back to the beginning of the year 1769^ it will be 
found that the parochial organization^ established a short 
time before, did not meet, in some very important respects, 
the wants of the people. Though affording partial relief in the 
provision made for a Representative of their own in Assembly, 
and the care of the poor, it left one of the chief grievances, 
of which they had long complained, remaining in full force. 
They were yet without a Court of their own, easy of access, 
and in which rights could be enforced, and crime punished, 
without the intolerable burden of long delays and ruinous 
expenses. Comparative quiet, indeed, had been restored 
through the effective measures of the Regulators, and yet 
the disturbances continued to threaten the public peace and 
safety. In the South Carolina and American General 
Gazette of 27th March, 1769, it was said: — "Various 
accounts continue to be received from the back country. 
A new set of people, who call themselves Moderators, have 
appeared against the Regulators. These two parties mutually 
accuse each other. What justice they have on either side, 
time will discover.'^ 

The plan of a Circuit Court Act was gaining ground 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 183 

daily. On tlie 29th June, the Governor, in his address to 
the Assembly^ said : " Although there are several matters 
that well deserve your serious consideration, I cannot help 
mentioning to you the grievances that your fellow- subjects 
suffer in the interior parts of this Province, from the want 
of an equal distribution of justice, as a matter that claims 
your immediate attention and regard. As I have lately 
been an eye-witness to the distresses they labour under, I 
earnestly recommend to you, to pursue such measures as 
will tend to relieve them ; and, in order to ease your delibe- 
rations on this point, I will lay before you copies of the 
Report of the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Planta- 
tions, on the Bill for establishing Circuit Courts in this 
Province ; passed some time since, wherein you will see 
stated, the reasons that operate against that Act's receiving 
the Royal aj)probation.^^ 

This timely and urgent recommendation of his Excellency 
had the desired effect, though the Assembly needed not any 
new arguments to lead them to speedy action on the subject. 

The result was, that on the 5th of July following, a Cir- 
cuit Court Bill was brought into Assembly, and passed its 
first reading. It was also stated in the public prints of the 
day, " that, in consideration of the great inconveniences 
and grievances to which the back settlers are subject, as 
soon as the Circuit Court Bill is gone through, another Bill 
will be presented to the House for establishing temporary 
County Courts.^' On 27th July, the Circuit Court Bill, having 
been passed, was presented to the Governor, who refused his 
sanction. On what ground, after his own urgent recom- 
mendation for some measure of relief, does not appear. 

There may have been, in his view, some particular feature 
of the Bill of an objectionable character. It passed the House 
again, and on the 2nd of August received the Governor's 
approbation. 

And thus, the long-fought battle ended in victory for the 
people. Popular rights, enforced by the strong arm of po- 
pular sovereignty, came out of the conflict triumphant. 

It was thought advisable by the Government at this cri- 
tical juncture, to adopt, in addition, a precautionary mea- 
sure for preserving the public peace on the Pedee and in 



184 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS- 

neighbouring parts of the Province. The Gazette of Augufit 
10-17th, said: "His Honor the Lieut.-Gov. has been 
pleased to appoint George Gabriel Powell, Esq., Colonel of 
the Militia in the North Eastern parts of this Province, to 
be one of his Majesty^s assistant Judges ; an appointment, 
which, it is thought, will give general satisfaction, particu- 
larly to the back settlers, by Avhom that gentleman is much 
and deservedly respected/^ 

The Circuit Court Act was passed, " for laying off several 
Districts or Circuits, and authorizing the holding of Courts 
of General Sessions and Common Pleas twice a year, for the 
trial of causes criminal and civil, arising within the same 
respectively, as nearly as may be, as the Justices of Assize 
and Nisi Prius do in Great Britain. Circuit Courts were, 
by this Act, to be held at Orangeburg, Ninety- Six, the Che- 
raws, George-town, Beaufort, and Charles-town" — to sit 
six days each. The Courts to be held in Charles-town, 
however, were not strictly speaking Circuit Courts ; but, like 
those of Westminster Hall, in England, alone possessed of 
complete original and final jurisdiction, all writs and other 
civil processes issuing therefrom and being made returnable 
thereto. 

The provision made for the interior Districts, was not, for 
this reason, altogether complete, though a signal advance 
for them, on their previous condition. Henceforth, Govern- 
ment became more efficient, and justice was brought nearer 
the habitation of each individual.* 

And withal, as their own rights would thus be made to 
pass in review before them, as also the wrongs and oppres- 
sions of Government, if any there were, a decided impetus 
would thereby be given to the progress of enlightened senti- 
ments, and the expression of them, in a bold and indepen- 
dent manner by the people. 

" By the Circuit Court Act, the Judges were authorized 
to determine, without a Jury, in a summary way, on peti- 
tion, all causes cognizable in the Circuit Courts for any sum 
not exceeding twenty pounds sterling ; except when the title 
of land should be in question. But each party might claim 



* Brevard's " Digest," vol. i. p. H. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 185 

to have the benefit of a Jury trial. The office of Provost 
Marshal was abolished, and Sheriffs and Clerks were ap- 
pointed."^ 

The Judicial District of Cheraws " was to be bounded by 
the course of Lynche's Creek north from the point where a 
north-west line from the northernmost corner of Williamburg 
Township reached the said Creek, to the Provincial line, by 
the Provincial boundary, and the line dividing St. Mark^s 
and Prince Frederick's Parish, which shall be continued till 
it intersects the northern Provincial line.^f 

These boundaries were identical with those of the Parish 
of St. David, created by Act of the previous year. The 
Courts were to be holden " on every 15th day of April and 
November, at the Cheraws, for the District of Cheraws." 
And, by the Act, the Judges of the Courts of Common 
Pleas were authorized and directed, " to contract and agree 
with proper persons, for the building and erecting Court 
Houses and Gaols, in places most convenient for holding 
the said Courts, and to purchase land for that purpose." 

George Hicks, Thomas Lide, Jonathan Wise, Benjamin 
Rogers, and Eli Kershaw, were appointed Commissioners 
for building the Court House and Gaol in the Cheraw Pre- 
cinct. 

Agreeably to the instructions sent them by the Lieute- 
nant-Governor, 22nd March, 1770, they met on 13th April, 
and contracted for one and a half acres of land on Cheraw 
Hill, whereon they proposed to have the said buildings 
erected ; as they judged that the most convenient and pro- 
per place, from its being the most public and healthy 
situation on the Pedee, 

Active steps were taken to carry their resolution into 
effect. It excited, however, very decided opposition on the 
part of many, who thought the neighbourhood of Long 
Bluff a better location for the Court House. 

The result was, that a petition for the change, and a coun- 
ter-petition were sent up to the Assembly, and action taken 
thereon. 



* Brevard's " Digest," vol. i. p. 15. 
f " Statutes at Large," vol. vii. p. 199. 



186 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

The following extracts, from the Journal of the House, 
will explain the whole proceeding : 

" August 17th, 1770. 

^' A Petition of the Freeholders and Electors of the Parish 
of St. David^s and the Cheraw District^ was presented to the 
House and read, in the words following, viz. : ' That, where- 
as an Act of Assembly, passed the 29th July, 1 769, for 
establishing Courts, &c., for the more convenient adminis- 
tration of Justice in this Province, and for the ease and 
advantage of the Inhabitants thereof; And, whereas, there 
is another Act passed at the last Session of Assembly, 
nominating the Long Bluff as the place for building the 
Court House and Gaol for the Cheraw District ; which Acts 
your Petitioners humbly conceive perfectly answer and con- 
firm the purposes of the first (to wit)_, the convenience, ease, 
and advantage of the Inhabitants ; for your Petitioners think 
the Long Bluff' not far from the real centre of the District ; 
at least the nearest to it of any place they know suitable 
for the Court House on Pedee River. These Acts, so wisely 
calculated to answer many of the greatest and best pur- 
poses, must, under the i)resent House of Representatives, 
ever dear to their constituents, and especially to the grateful 
Inhabitants of St. David, be enforced. Nevertheless, it is 
with the deepest concern, your Petitioners find themselves 
under the disagreeable necessity of remonstrating to this 
Honorable House against the joroceedings of a majority of 
the Commissioners relative to the Court House, they being 
acquaintances and neighbours of your Petitioners, a conduct 
your Petitioners apprehend, tending altogether (as far as in 
them lies), to defeat the good intention of the Legislature, 
they having appointed the Cheraw Hill (as it is lately 
called), or a place at or near INIr. Kershaw^s Store, for the 
Court House, in direct opposition, as your Petitioners appre- 
hend, to the Act of Assembly : Because, a very worthy 
Member of the House, of the first character, Thomas Lyuch, 
Esq., informed them there was an Act for having the Court 
House and Gaol at the Long Bluff, which information was 
given before they had contracted for any part of the mate- 
rials ; and soon afterwards, our own worthy and honorable 
Representative also acquainted them with the certainty of 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 187 

the Act, and even sent them a copy thereof, before it was 
printed, certified by the Secretary, to convince the Commis- 
sioners they were acting wrong : Yet they have contracted 
for, drawn on and received from the Public Treasurer, three 
thousand pounds, in order to build a Court House at Cheraw 
Hill. This appropriation of the public money is, your 
Petitioners huml^ly conceive, altogether contrary to the in- 
tention of the Legislature, and tending to retard the work, 
which will be a prejudice to the whole Province, if, as your 
Petitioners are told, the Judges do not ride the Circuit till 
the Court Houses are all finished according to law. If the 
proceedings of the Commissioners were not contrary to the 
Act of Assembly, yet, the ill consequences of their conduct 
to the inhabitants of this Parish, will be obvious to all 
who consider, that Mr. Kershaw^s store is seventeen or 
eighteen miles from the Long Bluff, which consequently en- 
hances the cost of every precept, as well as the expense and 
fatigue of travelling an vmnecessary distance ; all which, 
your Petitioners conceive, the poor people will be the like- 
liest to suffer, as, in all probability, they will be the most 
liable to actions of debt. If the intention of the Legisla- 
ture, in passing the Act, was partly to encourage trade, as 
some of the Commissioners say, yet, their wanting the 
Court House at Mr. Kershaw^s store, within eight or nine 
miles of the Province line, would, we think, only encourage 
the inland trade of that part of North Carolina next to the 
Court House. There is not an argument which your 
Petitioners ever heard advanced in favor of Cheraw Hill, 
nor, any produced against the Long Bluff, why (for con- 
venience, agreeableness of the place, as well as its central 
situation) it should not answer all the salutary purposes in- 
tended by the Act, but what your Petitioners are willing, 
if called upon, and think themselves perfectly able to con- 
fute : and, although two of the Commissioners very candidly 
confessed they are interested in having the Court House at 
Cheraw Hill, viz., Messrs. Eli Kershaw and Thomas Lide, 
— "^for then we will sell grog and osnaburgs,' as Mr. 
Kershaw expressed it ; yet, your Petitioners with confidence 
hope, this Honorable House will always protect the public 
welfare of this Province against all private interests, and we 



188 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

think we have reason to snspect, that the Commissioners 
concerned in the Draft npou the Table, intend to use their 
own and their friends^ interest to haA^e the Act repealed at 
the next meeting of Assembly, in order to carry their point 
of having- the Court House at Cheraw Hill ; but, should 
such a motion be made in the House by Petition or other- 
wise, your Petitioners humbly pray this Honorable House 
maturely to consider of it, and to repeal or continue the 
Act, as to you in your great wisdom, shall seem meet/^* 

" 21st August, 1770. 
" A Petition of a considerable part of the Free-holders 
and Inhabitants of the Cheraw Precinct, in the Parish of 
St. DaAdd, was presented to the House, and read in the 
words following, Aiz. : ' That your Petitioners have always 
entertained the highest regard for the Legislature, and were 
never so sensible of its wisdom and equity as when an Act 
was passed for the more easy and convenient administration 
of justice ; nor, did j^our Petitioners fail of paying due 
respect to that impartial regard to the general good Avhich 
appointed this populous part of the country to be a Precinct, 
by which salutary measure, your Petitioners will be de- 
livered from innumerable grievances and enjoy one of the 
best privileges of the British Constitution. That your 
Petitioners had an additional prospect of felicity by the 
Commissioners having appointed the Cheraw Hill as the 
most proper place for the Court House and Gaol to be built 
on, agreeably to the trust reposed in them, before they were 
informed of a different appointment made by the Legisla- 
ture. That your Petitioners (paying the greatest deference 
to the wisdom which originated the choice of the Long 
Bluff, in preference to the said Cheraw Hill, on account of 
the former being nearer to the centre of this Precinct), pray 
for leave to represent, that, from a personal knowledge of 
both places, they humbly conceive it would better answer 
the beneficent intention of the Legislature, if the Courts of 
Justice should be held at the place nominated by the Com- 
missioners ; because your Petitioners apprehend, that the 



* "Journal of House of Assembly," No. 38, pp. 407-409. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 189 

centre will certainly be removed a considerable distance 
higher up, when the error which was made in removing the 
Provincial line shall be rectified : and, more especially, be- 
cause your Petitioners conceive from the situation of the 
Clieraw Hill, with respect to the country round about it, 
and also from the apparent circumstances of trade now 
existing, and very likely to flourish, that place will always 
undoubtedly be the Capitol of the Precinct, and therefore, 
every encouragement given to it, will, in the same proportion 
as it promotes commerce, encourage industry in general, but 
particularly the poor families on the frontier of this Pro- 
vince, who are now very numerous, and daily increasing 
by emigrations from the Northern Colonies, and whose lands 
are capable of the best improvements; but_, were it not for 
the encouragement given them by the Stores at the Cheraws, 
their valuable lands would be in a manner lost, on account 
of the great distance they are situated from market, which 
circumstance alone has been introductory of some of the 
worst consequences. Your Petitioners therefore humbly 
pray, that such instructions may be given to the Commis- 
sioners as in your wisdom you shall deem most prpper/ 
" Ordered to be taken into consideration to-morrow/^* 

" 22nd August, 1770. 

" When the House (according to order), proceeded to 
take into consideration the Petitions of the Free-holders and 
Electors of the Parish of St. David^s and Cheraw District, 
which was presented to this House on the 17th inst., and 
also the Petition of a considerable part of the Free-holders 
and Inhabitants of the Cheraw Precinct, in the Parish of 
St. David, which was presented to this House yesterday, 
and the Petitions were severally read, and a memorial of 
George Hicks, Thomas Lide, Jonathan Wise, Benjamin 
Rogers, and Ely Kershaw, commissioners appointed for 
building the Court House and Gaol in the Cheraw Precinct, 
presented to the House, and read in the words following, 
viz. : ' That they, the subscribers, being appointed commis- 
sioners to contract for, and superintend the building a 
Circuit Court House and Gaol at Cheraw, in the Parish of 



* " Journal of the House/' No. 38, pp. 415, 416. 



190 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

St. David, by an Act of the General Assembly, passed the 
29th July, 1769, did agreeably to the instructions sent 
them by the Lieut. -Gov., the 22nd March last, in obedience 
thereto, meet on the 13th April, and contracted for one and 
a half acres of land on Cheraw Hill, whereon they proposed 
to have the said buildings erected, as they judged that the 
most convenient and proper place, from its being the most 
public and healthy situation on Pedee River ; Public notice 
was also given, that they proposed to meet again at Cheraw 
on the 10th of May, at which meeting they received a letter 
from George Gabriell Powell, Esq., wherein he informed 
them, that a bill for removing the Court House and Gaol 
to Long Bluff had been framed, but had not passed ; that, 
therefore, the commissioners were left at liberty to have 
the said buildings carried on with all possible despatch, at 
any place they thought proper : they, therefore, agreeably 
to this letter, and the instructions sent them formerly, con- 
tracted for the materials, the chief of which are now ready 
upon the land above mentioned. 

" ' But, since our agreeing for the said materials, your 
memorialists have been informed that the General Assembly 
had thought proper to have the said buildings at Long Bluff 
— a place which^ they humbly conceive, is not so convenient 
as the above, being a low situation, surrounded with low, 
flat laud, and subject at some seasons of the year to be in 
a manner surrounded with water, and not likely ever to be 
a town, or place of trade. 

" They would also beg leave to observe, that though the 
Long Bluff, as the Pi'ovincial line now runs, is nearer to 
the centre of the Cheraw District, yet they are informed 
the north Provincial line is likely to be extended higher up ; 
but, even if it never should, ^tis their opinion that the 
Cheraw Hill will be as central to the majority of the people, 
and they conceive it would have been as convenient to 
have placed the Court Honse and Gaol for George- town 
District in the centre of that Precinct, as to place the 
Court House and Gaol for Cheraw District at Long Bluff. 
And they further beg leave to observe, that the Cheraw 
Hill is at present, and has been for many years past, the 
most public and the greatest place of trade upon Pedee 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 19i 

River. Tliey, therefore, hope this Honorable House will 
take the premises into consideration, and get such informa- 
tion of the situation of both places as to your Honors shall 
seem meet ; and they have agreed, in order that the public 
may not be disappointed, to continue to forward the work 
ah'eady contracted for, at Cheraw Hill, Avith all expedition, 
so as to have them ready as soon as the other Court Houses 
and Gaols. And, after this Honorable House hath con- 
sidered the matter, and obtained such information of both 
places as you may judge necessary, should it then be deter- 
mined by your Honors to have the said buildings erected 
at Long Bluff, the frame and other materials might be 
removed thither by water, though at a very considerable 
expense. Your memorialists, therefore, thought it neces- 
sary to lay their proceedings before this Honble. House for 
their inspection, and at the same time to give their oijinion 
respecting both places, in order that they might not be 
reflected upon hereafter, should this Honorable House be 
imposed on and persuaded to place the buildings at an im- 
proper place. 

" ' And it is not their intention to contract for anything 
further, until they receive positive orders at which place 
they can with safety have the said buildings erected.^ 

" And a debate arising thereon, a motion was made, and 
the question being put, that the said Petition and Memorial 
be referred to a committee, the House divided, and the 
yeas went forth. 

Teller for the Yeas, ] Teller for the Noes, ] „ 

Mr. M'Kenzie. J Mr. Lowndes. J 

" So it passed in the negative. 

" Ordered, 

" That a Message be prepared to be sent to the Lieut. - 
Gov., to desire, that his Honor will be pleased to give 
positive directions to the Commissioners appointed for build- 
ing the Court House and Gaol at the Chcraws District, to 
cause the said Court House and Gaol to be erected and 
built at the Long Bluff. 

" According to Order, the following Message was pre- 
pared, to be sent to the Lieut. -Gov. ; which, being read a 



192 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

second time, was agreed to, and Mr. Speaker ordered to 
sign the same, viz. : — 

" May it please your Honor, 

" It appearing to this House, that some doubts 
have arisen with the Commissioners for building the Gaol 
and Court House in the Cheraw District, about the proper 
place for erecting the same, and the House being of opinion 
that it is clearly fixed by an Act passed, the 7th of April 
last, to be at a place called the Long Blufi": we humbly 
desire that your Honor will be pleased to give positive 
directions to the Commissioners, appointed for that purpose, 
to cause the said Gaol and Court House to be immediately 
erected on the spot appointed by the said Act, that there 
may be no delay in carrying into execution the good pur- 
poses intended by the Circuit Court law. 
" By order of the House, 

" Peter Manigault, Speaker."* 

'' A Message from the Lieut.-Gov., by the Clerk of the 
Council : — 

" Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen, 

" According to your desire, I have given 
positive orders to the Commissioners for building the Gaol 
and Court-house in the Cheraws District, to erect the same 
at the Long Bluff, and to proceed in the finishing these 
buildings with the utmost expedition. 

"Wm. BuLL.t 

" August 23rd, 1770." 

The subject was thus very properly disjjosed of by the 
House without debate. And though the Act in favour of 
Long Bluff had not been previously passed, the fact would 
yet have remained obvious, that the reasons in favour of 
that location greatly preponderated. The counter petition 
in support of Cheraw Hill, sounds very much like the pro- 
duction of a Lawyer paid for the work, and the Memorial 
signally failed to establish its case. The interest of a por- 



* " House Jouruivl," No. 38, pp. 417-420. f Ibid, pp. 421, 422. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 193 

tion of the Commissioners, who were influential, doubtless, 
gave shape to the proceedings of the Board ; and the struggle 
■was between the interests of a few and the convenience of 
many. It is a sad illustration, often furnished in the history 
of human affairs, how men of probity may thus be uncon- 
sciously biased. Long BluflP itself was almost too high up, 
could an eligible location below have been made available. 
Under all the circumstances, it was by far the best point 
that could have been selected, and there ought not to have 
been a moment^s hesitation on the part of those entrusted 
with the work. In the subsequent division of Cheraw Dis- 
trict into Counties, this was the point most central to them 
all. It never, indeed, became a place of any commercial 
note, and was eventually abandoned, or its immediate site, 
at least, as a place of residence. And yet it was at that 
time the most central and accessible point for the District 
generally, and withal, a place of some importance, as it con- 
tinued to be for many years afterward. 

Henceforth, Long Bluft' was to become the resort of judges 
and lawyers. There, deeds of blood were to meet with 
their reward, and rigid justice was to be meted out. There, 
a people, hitherto practically debarred by the circumstances 
of their position from the exercise of some of the dearest pri- 
vileges of free-men, were no longer to look upon the admi- 
nistration of justice and the adjudication of their rights 
from afar. The law was now to come nigh them, and trial 
by jury to be their immediate prerogative. 

Public wrongs, as well as private grievances, were to be 
the subjects of their investigation and complaint. Answer- 
able themselves to the Government under which they had 
been reared, that power, venerable and august as it was, 
was to become amenable to them in turn for its abuses. 

And but a few short years were to pass away ere Long 
Bluff was to become a name, indissolubly associated with 
all that was lofty and ennobling in the first developments 
and commanding power of the spirit of independence on the 
Pedee. 

The dispute about the location, and the transportation of 
the materials from Cheraw Hill, caused some delay in the 
prosecution of the work. It became necessary therefore to 



194 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

use all possible despatch, so as not to be behind the other 
Judicial Districts in the erection of their Court Houses and 
Gaols. As early as April 12th, 1770, it was said in the 
Gazette, " We are advised, from different parts of the country, 
that the utmost despatch is used by the several Boards of 
Commissioners for building Precinct Court Houses and 
Gaols, to complete the same during the course of the present 
year ; especially in the frontier Districts, which again begin 
to be infested with great numbers of Horse Thieves and 
other Vagabonds, from whose depredations and outrages they 
fear they can never be completely relieved till a Vagrant 
Act is passed/^ 

The partial calm which followed the determined action of 
the Regulators during the previous year, was seriously dis- 
turbed again. Old oflFenders, who had been di'iven off, 
returned once more. 

The Gazette of April 5th said : " We are informed that 
a great number of Horse Thieves, and other Banditti, who 
fled from the back parts of this and the neighboring Pro- 
vinces quite to West Florida, while the regulating scheme 
prevailed, after having sold the horses they rode off, are 
returned and returning, in small parties, by sea, to different 
sea-ports on this continent, perhaps to play their old game 
over again ; but they will be narrowly watched, and "'tis 
not very unlikely that some of these gentry may furnish the 
first business of our new Circuit Courts.""^ 

More than a year subsequent to this time, a serious dis- 
turbance occurred on the Pedee. 

Of the last notable affair of the kind, the Gazette of 
October 3rd, 1771, contained the following account: — 
" Winsler Driggcrs, a notorious villain, who escaped out of 
Savannah Gaol about thirteen months ago, under sentence 
of death, and for the taking of whom a reward of fifty 
pounds sterling was offered, has at length met with his 
deserts. He was taken about a month ago, near Drowning 
Creek, in the Charraw Settlement, proved to be a Mulatto, 
tried under the Negro Act, and hanged. It seems he had 
been in those parts some months, collected a gang of other 
desperate -sdllains, in number near fifty, who committed all 
manner of depredations. Capt. Philip Pledger, with a 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 195 

number of his neighbors, at length made an attempt to 
take or drive them out of the settlement. As soon as Capt. 
Pledger's party appeared, the villains fired, and Driggers 
wounded Capt. Pledger in one of his arms, so that he has 
since lost it (it was amputated). Pledger's party returned 
the fire, killed one William Hodge and one Johnston, 
wounded Driggers in one arm and the back, who neverthe- 
less escaped, but was afterwards taken.''* 

Depredations were committed after this, but by smaller 
parties and by stealth, until the troubles of the Revolution 
came on, when this class of people, under the wing of the 
Tories, renewed their outrages more boldly than ever. 

The Court House and Gaol at Long Bluff, now rapidly 
approaching completion, were built after the substantial 
manner of those days, when appearance was less consulted 
than strength and durability. With massive walls and 
heavy oak frames, carefully selected and well put together, 
the Court House continued to stand for many years, and 
until the ancient village, in the next century, had become 
' deserted. It stood on the right of the main street, or road, 
as it approached the river, and about three hundred yards 
from the latter. It was taken down about the year 1817. 

The Parish of St. David, except as to the elective fran- 
chise, was henceforth to be overshadowed by the more 
imposing judicial organization now established, and the 
story of the '' Old Cheraws " to become the subject of his- 
toric renown. 

The offices created by the Circuit Court Act, of SheriflF, 
Clerk, &c., were to be filled by appointment of the Crown. 
The only popular election yet provided for, in addition to 
Parish officers, was the Member of Assembly. The Sheriff 
was to be appointed every second year, the Court nominat- 
ing three proper persons, freeholders, and residents of the 
District or Precinct, whose names were to be presented to 



* The tradition of tliis fight was handed down in the neighborliood, and 
in a correct shape as to many of the particulars, except that it purported to 
have been an affair between Captain Pledger and the Tories. 

It was related to the author by the late Captain John Terrell, of Marl- 
borough, a grandson of Captain Pledger. The fight occurred near the place 
where Captain 'i'errell lived and died. J)riggers was hung near Muddy Creek, 
on the Old River Rt)ad, six miles below Cheravv. The spot is yet pointed out. 

o 2 



196 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

the Governor^ Lieatenant-Governor, or Commander-in-Chie f 
for tlie time being, and from wliom one was to be selected 
and commissioned. 

The names of Charles Augustus Steward, Alexander 
Mcintosh, and William Henry Mills, were presented to his 
Excellency the Governor in June 1772, as suitable persons 
for Sheriff of Cheraw District. As was to be expected, from 
what was already well known of these gentlemen in con- 
nexion with their political sympathies, the latter was 
selected and commissioned. He retained his place until a 
change of Government in 1776, On the 3rd of November 
(1772), the Ga;2ette said: "Since our last, their Honors, 
the Judges, set out to open and hold the Circuit Courts for 
the several Districts in this Province, which began the 5th 
inst., and is the first since the passing of that Act.'^ Chief 
Justice Gordon and Justice Murray took the " North- 
Circuit,^'' as it was then called. They were to sit first in 
George-town. On Monday, the 16th November, henceforth 
to be a day memorable in the history of the Pedee, the 
Court was to open at Long Bluff. 

Imagination may picture to itself the interest with which 
the people looked forward to the consummation of their 
long-cherished wishes, and the triumph of the hard-fought 
battle for their rights. 

Happily for them and for their children, the administra- 
tion of justice in their midst on so august an occasion was 
not to commence without invoking first the blessing of 
Heaven, and recalling the sanctions of that Holy Religion, 
established by Him who is the Lord and Judge of all the 
earth. In accordance, therefore, with the pious custom of 
the time, a " Sessions Sermon" was preached on the morn- 
ing of the 16tli, ])efore the opening of the Court, by the 
Rev. Nicholas Bedgegood, Pastor of the Welch Neck 
Church. The duties and responsibilities of those in 
authority, as well as of the subjects of the state of every 
degree, were doubtless enforced, and the thoughts of all 
alike directed to a judgment in the end of the world, from 
which there is to be no appeal. 

The Presentments of the Grand Jury for Cheraws Dis- 
trict, made on Monday the 16th, were ordered to be pub- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 197 

lished in the general Gazette of the Provmce^ and were as 
follows : — 

" I. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Law to 
cleanse the River of the great number of trees and logs 
which interrupt the na\agation. 

" II, We present, as a grievance, the want of a Bridge 
over Thompson's Creek, near Yorkshire Mills ; and another 
over Black Creek, a small distance above the Ferry, known 
by the name of Douglass Ferry. 

'' III. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Free- 
school in the District. 

" IV. We present, as a grievance, that neither the Laws 
of this Province, nor the Statutes of Great Britain, now in 
force, are printed or published in such a manner as to be 
procured by the inhabitants of this District. 

'^ V. We present Edward Williams, late a constable, for 
suffering Ralph Sutton, charged with Felony, and John 
Williams, the Prosecutor, to escape from him, — by the infor- 
mation of Col. Charles Augustus Steward. 

" Charles A. Steward, Foreman. L.S. 

Abel Edwards. , L.S. 

Thomas Edwards. L.S. 

Henry William Harrington. L.S. 

Robert Blair. L.S. 

William Godfrey. L.S. 

Richard^ Carter. L.S. 

Samuel Chandler. L.S. 

Peter Kolb. L.S. 

John Hodges. L.S. 

William Dewitt. L.S. 

George Hicks. L.S. 

Benjamin Rogers. L.S. 

Arthur Hart. L.S. 

Thomas Evans. L.S. 

Robert Clary. L.S. 

William Pegnes. L.S. 

John Perkins. L.S." 

The attention given by the Grand Jury on this occasion 
to the important subjects of internal improvements, Educa- 



198 HISTORY OF TIIK OLD CIIERAWS. 

tion, and tlic Publication of the Laws of tlic Province, waa 
timely. They were nuitters of serious regard, and failed 
not afterward to be brought to public notice as occasion 
demanded. In the Gazette of 15th December following 
tliis account appeared, viz. : " At Cheraws seven Bills were 
given out, and four found. Jacob Tilley, convicted of 
Horse-stealing, was sentenced to receive thirty-nine lashes, 
and to have his right car cut off; llandall Johnson, con- 
victed of Larceny, was burnt in the hand.^' 

On the approach of the April Assizes, 1773, Justices 
Savage and Fewtrcll chose the Northern Circuit. The 
Court opened for Cheraws, April 15th. The Presentments 
of the Grand Jury, ordered to be printed, were as follows : — 

'' I. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Law for 
cleansing Pedce River. 

"11. We i)rescnt, as a grievance, the want of a Bridge 
over Thompson's Creek,"^ and also over Black Creek, on the 
road between the Cheraws and George-town. 

" 111. We j)resent, as a grievance, the want of a Free- 
school in the District. 

" IV. We present, as a grievance, the general neglect of 
the Militia and Patrol Acts, and recommend that they may 
be amended. 

" V. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Vagrant 
Act, the District boiug infested with many idle and disor- 
derly persons, who haviug no visible means of subsistence, 
either plunder the industrious inhabitants, or become 
chargeable to the Parish. 

" VI. AVe present, as a grievance, the want of a Chapel 
of Ease in the lower part of the District. 

*' VII. AVe present, as a grievance, that the lines of the 
District arc not now ascertained. 

" VIII. We recommend that a Law be passed, obliging 
Persons not resident in the Province, or their agents, to 
give security, iipon commencing any Suit in the Courts 
of Common Law, to pay the costs thereof, if a verdict 
shall pass for the defendant ; and also obliging Prosecutors, 



* This was doubtless at the point referred to in the former Presentment as 
near Yorkshire Mills ; and was on the road from Chernw to Long Blull". 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 199 

on behalf of the Crowiij for misdemeanor, to pay the 
costs where the defendant shall be acquitted, or not prose- 
cuted to trial. 

" IX. We present, as a grievance, that witnesses attend- 
ing the Sessions on behalf of the Crown are not allowed 
their expences. 

" X. We present, as a grievance, that neither the Laws of 
this Province, nor the Statutes of Great Britain, made of 
force therein, are printed or published. 

" XI. We present Edward Jones, Constable, for a wilful 
neglect of his duty, on the information of Unity Hunter. 

" XII. We present Joseph Gourly, Esq., one of the 
Justices for the District, as a common drunkard, a pro- 
fane swearer, and disturber of the peace, on the infor- 
mation of Robert Dowling. 

" XIII. We present, as a grievance, the want of a wall 
to enclose the Gaol and the yard round the same, it being 
at present entirely open, by which means, persons from 
without can reach instruments to the prisoners within, to 
facilitate their escape ; and also the want of a well for the 
use of the same. 

Alexander Mackintosh, Foreman. L.S. 

Claudius Pegnes. L.S. 

William Johnston. L.S. 

Samuel Wise. L.S. 

Thomas Lide. L.S. 

Thomas James. L.S. 

Robert Lide. L.S. 

John Kimbrough. L.S. 

Martin Kolb. L.S. 

John Mikell. L.S. 

Thomas Burton. . L.S. 

Thomas Ayer. L.S. 

John Hewstess. L.S. 

Malachi Murfee. L.S. 

William Dewitt. L.S. 

Thomas Ellerbe. L.S. 

Martin Dewitt. L.S. 

John Hitchcock. L.S. 

John Wilds. L.S. 



200 HHTOEY 05 THE OLD CHEBAW5, 

AaroTi Darnel. L.S, 

^la^us Coi'orilL L-S. 

Al)el WiMs. ' LS.'' 

The effect ttpoa tlic minds of the people of having Courts 
of their own, holden among them, was now becoming ap- 
parent, Bespect for the constituted authorities of the 
Province was partially restored, and the majesty of the law 
vindicated. 

Secure in the feeling that the guilty would not go un- 
punished, attention was naturally turned to those important 
subject** connected with the general welfare and progress of 
society, and hence the several matters brought to public 
notice by the Grand /uries, both for Legislative action, and 
district regulation and controL 

It is somewhat singular, as appears from Presentment 
fourth, that after such recent disturbances and in so un- 
settled a state of the country, there should have been a 
general neglect in enforcing the i'lilitia and Patrol Acts, 
It was doubtless attributable in part to the sparsity of the 
population, as well as to the difficulty ever existing in the 
early stages of society, of securing thoroughly organized 
sfcud constant effort for the removal of public evUs, or the 
enforcement of the laws of the land. A Vagrant Act was 
now imperatively demanded. The public expression by a 
Grand Jury of the want of a Chapel of Ease (as it was 
called in the language of the time, being an ad_pinct of the 
parish church), was a happy omen for the religious senti- 
ment and public opinion of the day. The country was 
very scantily supplied with religious services, and the want 
of additional facilities for public worship was sorely felt. 
In this connexiorr, the presentment of a Justice of the 
Peace, as a drunkard and profene swearer, is worthy of 
notice, aiid is au. esaxx^ple which their posterity might well 
follow SMxre sccbdoa^ tlem they do, as to the hi^ataadani 
of character wl^aA tm^t ever to be required in those who 
aspire to oSeea of pnUic trust. The irxactiaoA g£ a Grand 
Jury, as the high inqnert of the State, asid a» bcxe faatidalikf 
discharged, have been too much ignored in latw i^attM, To 
such a body the looftt aolemxi tnut ia c u oi iittwi ; and 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 201 

l)ol(lly brought to bear upon society, its influence would 
l)c largely felt. The conduct of tlie Grand Juricss of the 
Clicraws District in the early days of its history is worthy 
of perpetual remembrance. 

At the November Term, 1773, Chief Justice Gordon and 
Justice Savage presided. U[) to this time, the name of 
Thomas Turner ajjpears as Clerk for Cheraw District, and 
James Johnston dei)uty-Clerk. The latter place was filled 
on this occasion by Henry Wm. Harrington. 

The Presentments of the Grand Jury were as fol- 
lows : — 

"I. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Vagrant 
Act in this Province, this District in particidar ])eing in- 
fested with many Vagrants, who do great damage!, particu- 
larly by fire hunting. 

" II. We present, as a grievance, tliat the; division line 
lately run between this ])istrict and the District of (jcorge- 
town, does not extend lower dowii Pedee River than sixteen 
or seventeen miles from the Court House : which, wc 
hund)ly ap[)rehend, was not originally interuled in the 
division of the Districts in this Province, and therefore do 
rccomnunul that this matter be taken into consideration by 
the Ij(!gishitiire. 

" III. We present, as a very great grievaru;e, the want of 
a Free School in this District. 

" IV. We present, as a grievaiuic, the want of a Law for 
cleansing Pedee River, its navigation at present being very 
unsafe. 

" V. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Bridge 
over Thompson's Creek, near Col. Steward's Mill, iind another 
over JJlack Creek, near the present Ferry. 

"VI. AVe present, as a grievance, the prescmt iiisiiflieieney 
of the Gaol of this District, by which persons confined 
therein are enabled to make their escape ; and we do recom- 
mend that it be surrounded by a sufficient wall, at a con- 
venient distance therefrom, to prevent the confedc^rates of 
the Prisoners from furnishing them with implements for 
breaking the same. 

" \l\. We present, as a grievance, tlu; want of a new 
Jury list in this District. 



202 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

" We recommend that these our Presentments be pub- 
lished in the several Gazettes of this Province. 

" John Kimbrough^ Foreman. L.S. 

George Hicks. L.S. 

William Pegnes. L.S. 

Malachi Murfee, Sen. L.S. 

Robert Lide. L.S. 

Thomas Ayer. L.S. 

John Hodge. L.S. 

Abel Wilds. L.S. 

Thomas Ellerbe. L.S. 

Joshna Hickman. L.S. 

Robert Blair. L.S. 

Arthur Hart. L.S. 

William Godfrey. L.S. 

Alexander Mackintosh. L.S. 

Martin Dewitt. L.S. 

Robert Clary. L.S. 

Elias DuBose. L.S. 

John Mikell. L.S. 

James Kelly. L.S. 

Thomas James. L.S.^^ 

On 21st December, the following notice appeared in the 
Gazette, viz. : " At Cheraws, twelve bills of Indictment 
were given out, of which nine were found. Samuel Winds, 
convicted of Horse-stealing, was sentenced to lose his right 
ear, and be publickly whipt. John Odom, Sen., Alexander 
Purvis, and James Wright, convicted of Petit Larceny, 
were sentenced to be whipt. William Lewis, alias John 
Macallister, found guilty of Forgery, was sentenced to 
stand in the Pillory, and be publickly whipt. Samuel 
Winds, Alexander Purvis, and James Wright have been 
pardoned by his Honor, the Lieutenant-Governor.^' 

Notwithstanding the urgent recommendations of the 
Grand Juries from time to time, nothing was done by the 
Legislature to improve the navigation of the river. The 
matter was not acted upon until some years subsequent to 
the Revolution. Nor were any steps taken for the estab- 



HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 203 

lishment of Free Schools. Difficult as it has been since to 
make any adequate proAdsion of the kind, the difficulty was 
much greater then in consequence of the low state of the 
public funds and the sparseness of the population. 

On Friday^ April 14th, 1774, the following Presentments 
were made by the Grand Jury of Cheraws, and ordered to 
be published, viz. : — 

'' I. We present, as a grievance, the want of a new Jury 
list. 

" II. We present the Commissioners appointed for build- 
ing the parish church of St. David, for not having it com- 
pleted in proper time, the money having been granted by 
the Commons House of Assembly near four years, for 
that purpose, — by the information of Charles Augustus 
Steward, Esq. 



Alexander Mcintosh, Foreman. 


L.S. 


John Hodges. 


L.S. 


William Hardwick. 


L.S. 


Wm. Henry Harrington. 


L.S. 


Malachi Murfee 


L.S. 


Joshua Hickman. 


L.S. 


Thomas James. 


L.S. 


John Wilds. 


L.S. 


Robert Clary. 


L.S. 


Robert Blair. 


L.S. 


Abel Wilds. 


L.S. 


Thomas Ayer. 


L.S. 


Moses Speight, 


L.S. 


Robert Lide. 


L.S. 


William Godfrey 


L.S. 


Martin Dewitt, 


L.S. 


William Pegnes. 


L.S. 


Elias DuBose. 


L.S. 


Martin Kolb. 


L.S. 


Alexander Gordon. 


L.S.'' 



Calvin Spencer was deputy Clerk at this term of the 
Court. 

The parish church had been used in December, 1772, as 



204 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

already stated, though doubtless in an unfinished state, as 
this Presentment would indicate. Of the early history of 
the Bar of the Old Cheraws very little is known. 

Of its learned arguments, its eloquent appeals, and bril- 
liant conflicts, no tradition even remains. Up to this time 
and for years subsequent, there was no resident lawyer in the 
District. Colonel Powell was doubtless a regular attendant 
and leading advocate there from the first, as were some of 
the eminent members of the Bar of Charles-town, with 
Judges Waties and Brevard, before their promotion to the 
Bench. 

The records which remain are silent on the subject, and 
no tongue is left to tell of the stirring scenes which were 
enacted there. For many years past every material vestige, 
except a few scattered bricks, has disappeared. 

The plough, for more than a generation, has made deep 
furrows over the ground on which the old Court House 
stood. We can only wander back in imagination to its 
earlier days, and sadly muse on the past. 

Another chapter will open, and burning words come 
back — the opening chapter of the manly declaration of their 
rights and of their country's wrongs, by the sturdy patriots 
of the Old Cheraws. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 205 



CHAPTER X. 

A general Congress of the colonies proposed — Scene thereupon in Assembly of 
South Carolina — Action of the Assembly — South Carolina takes the lead — 
Repeal of the Stamp Act — Declaratory Act — Claim of taxing the colonies 
asserted — East India Company imports tea — Course of Soutli Carolina — 
Cargo restrained from sale — Course of other colonies — Town meetings called 
— Circular letter from Massachusetts — Arrival of it in Charles-town — Ex- 
citement — Circular letters sent through the Province — General meeting in 
Charles-town — St. David's represented — Action of meeting — Provincial 
Congress called — Deputies from St. David's — Action of the Congress — 
November courts — William Henry Drayton appointed judge — Account of 
him and his appointment — Presides at Long Bluff — His charge to the 
grand jury — Address of petit jury in reply — Presentments of the o-rand 
jury — Reflections — Account of Judge Drayton — Subsequent career and 
death — Action of general meeting in Charles-town as to the poor of Boston 
— Province sends relief — Subscription in St. David's parish — Reflections^ 
Close of year 1V74 — Concluding remarks. 

As early as 1765, the passage of tlie memorable Stamp Act 
by the British Parliament roused the American Colonists 
generally to opposition. To make this feeling effective, it 
was necessary that some common plan of co-operation should 
be adopted. Among other propositions offered to secure 
such a uniform line of conduct in the several colonies, was 
that of a general Congress of Deputies to be elected from 
each. When this measure was first proposed in the Assembly 
of South Carolina, there were not wanting, as in all revo- 
lutions, those who were disposed to frown it down. It was 
ridiculed by a humorous member, on that occasion, in words 
to the following effect, viz. : " If you agree to the proposi- 
tion of composing a Congress of Deputies from the different 
British Colonies, what sort of a dish will you make ? New 
England will throw in fish and onions. The Middle States, 
flax-seed and flour. Maryland and Virginia will add to- 
bacco. North Carolina, pitch, tar, and tur})entiue. South 
Carolina, rice and indigo ; and Georgia will sprinkle the 
whole composition with saw-dust. Such an absurd jumble 
will you make, if you attempt to form an union among such 
discordant materials as the thirteen British Provinces/' To 



206 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

which^ a shrewd country member replied : " He would not 
choose the gentleman who made the ohjection for his cook ; 
but, nevertheless, he would venture to assert, that if the Co- 
lonies proceeded judiciously in the appointment of Deputies 
to a Continental Congress, they would prepare a dish fit to 
be presented to any crowned head in Europe."^ 

This reply was worthy of Carolina, and equal to the occa- 
sion that called it forth. The Commons House of Assembly 
was prepared for decided action ; and having passed resolu- 
tions, strongly affirming their rights as British subjects, pro- 
ceeded to the election of Deputies to the Congress which 
was to meet the following October. South Carolina was 
the first of the colonies, out of New England, to take this 
step towards a Continental union. The effect of the meet- 
ing of the Congress, and of the decided stand taken by the 
Colonies, was a repeal of the Stamp Act. The repeal was 
accompanied, however, by an Act, commonly called the De- 
claratory Act, which affirmed, "that the Parliament of Great 
Britain had a right to bind the colonies in all cases what- 
soever.^^ In pursuance of this right, thus unconstitutionally 
claimed, the experiment of taxation was renewed in 1767, 
though more artfully than before, in the shape of small 
duties on glass, paper, tea, painters^ colors, &c. Again the 
Colonies petitioned, and agreed, moreover, among themselves, 
to import no more British manufactures. 

The Government, alarmed once more at this general and 
decided manifestation of the spirit of intelligent resistance 
and revolt, repealed all the odious duties except that of 
threepence a pound on tea. 

In the mean time, the East India Company, in order to 
take advantage of this state of things, adopted the scheme 
of exporting large quantities of tea, to be sold on their 
account in the several capitols of the British Colonies. This 
increased the jealousy of the Colonies, and made them more 
determined than before to resist the encroachment on their 
rights. Accordingly, combinations were entered into to 
obstruct the sales of tea thus sent out by the East India 



* Ramsay's " Revolution in So. Ca." vol. i. p. 13. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 207 

Company. A cargo sent to South Carolina was stored, tlie 
consignees being restrained from exposing it to sale. In 
other colonies similar measures were adopted. In Boston 
a few men in disguise threw overboard 340 chests of tea, 
the proportion sent by the East India Company to that 
Province. This led to a retaliatory Act by Parliament, 
blocking up the Port of Boston, and was followed by other 
Acts of a similar kind. One of these was called an " Act 
for the better regulating the Government of Massachusetts,^' 
the effect of which was to alter essentially the Charter of 
that Province, taking the executive control out of the hands 
of the people, and vesting it in the King or his Governor. 
Other abuses of the most offensive and alarming character 
speedily followed. 

The colonists generally took the alarm. The inhabitants 
of Boston were thrown into the utmost consternation. 
Town- meetings were called; and at one of them. May 13th, 
1774, a resolution was passed, calling upon the other Colo- 
nies in the most earnest manner to put a stop at once to 
all importations from Great Britain and the West Indies 
until the Act for blocking up Boston Harbor should be re- 
pealed, or else there would be reason to fear "that fraud, 
power, and the most odious oppressions would rise trium- 
l^hant over justice, right, social happiness, and freedom. '^ 
A copy of this vote was immediately forwarded to the other 
Colonies. On its arrival in Charles-town, intense feeling 
was excited ; and in order that it might be submitted to 
the general voice of the people, some of the principal 
gentlemen of the town caused circular letters to be sent 
out by express, to every Parish and District in the Province, 
calling a general meeting of the inhabitants. The sum- 
mons was urgent, and met with a hearty response. 

Everywhere the people assembled, and appointed Depu- 
ties to meet in Charles-town on the 6th of July ensuing. 
When that day arrived, " Charles-town was filled with per- 
sons from the country. One hundred and four Deputies 
represented all parts of the Province, except Greenville 
County, St. John's, Colleton, and Christ Church Parish, 
which were without delegations. In behalf of Charles-town, 



208 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

the General Committee appeared/'* Col. George Gabriel 
Powell was one of the Deputies from St. David's Parish^ 
and took a conspicuous part in the proceedings of the 
meeting. 

Of the names of the other deputies from this Parish no 
record remains. No complete list^ indeed, of all those in 
attendance, appears in the published accounts of the time. 

The meeting was held under the Exchange, July 6th, 
and a crowded assemblage it was. 

At 9 o'clock in the morning, Col. Powell took the chair; 
and it was carried, " that votes should be given by each 
person present, and not by Parishes" — and also, " that who- 
ever came there might give his vote." The business of the 
day then opened with the reading of the communication 
from the Colony of Massachusetts. Afterwards resolutions 
were considered, touching American rights and grievances. 
A resolution was passed, providing for the safety and wel- 
fare of the Province, by the appointment of a Committee 
of ninety-nine persons, to act as a General Committee, to 
correspond with the Committees of the other Colonies, and 
to do all matters and things necessary to carry these reso- 
lutions into execution ; and that any twenty-one of them, 
met together, may proceed in business, their power to con- 
tinue till the next general meeting."t 

The General Committee was accordingly appointed by 
the meeting, and consisted of fifteen merchants and fifteen 
mechanics to represent Charles -town; and sixty-nine planters 
to represent the other parts of the Province. J 

This proceeding, though not strictly authorized by the people 
in the action taken at their primary meetings, was acquiesced 
in, as being demanded by the extraordinary circumstances 
of the time, and manifestly intended for the public good. 

After a session of three days the meeting adjourned. 
Thus matters went on, the members of the General Com- 
mittee attending to their several duties throughout the 
Province. In the fall, it was determined by the Com- 
mittee to convene a Provincial Congress, by the election of 



* Drayton's " Memoirs," p. 126. 

■j- Ramsay's "Revolution in So. Ca." vol. i. p. 22. 

X Drayton's " Memoirs," vol. i. p. 131. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEIIAWS. 209 

Representatives from every District and Parish in the 
Province, to meet in Charles-town early in the ensuing 
year. The designs of the British Government^ in the 
meantime, had been more fully developed, and the neces- 
sity for increased energy and more perfect union among 
the colonists Avas most apparent. 

By means of the Congress of delegates it was thought 
the public arm would be strengthened, and the sentiments 
of the people better known and more firmly established. 
For this purpose, on the 9th of November, the Committee 
issued Resolutions, providing for the general election of 
Deputies throughout the Province, by appointing the time, 
describing the Districts and Provinces, and fixing the num- 
ber of Representatives for each. As before, in fixing the 
ratio of the General Committee, thirty were allowed for 
Charles-town, ten to each of the four large Districts of 
Ninety-six, of those between the Broad and Saluda, the 
Broad and Catawba rivers, and that eastward of the 
Wateree ; and six Representatives to each of the Parishes, 
— making in all one hundred and eighty-four, neaidy four 
times as many as constituted the Commons House of 
Assembly. 

The Resolutions required the Representatives elected to 
assemble in Charles-town on the 11th of January, 1775 ; 
and also set forth the objects of the meeting, viz., to receive 
an account of the proceedings of the late Continental Con- 
gress, to elect delegates for another Congress, to be held in 
the ensuing May, to elect a new General Committee, and 
to establish such regulations as the exigences of the times 
might render necessary. 

The following gentlemen were elected from St. David's 
Parish, viz.. Honorable George Gabriel Powell, Claudius 
Pegues, Henry Wm. Harrington, Alexander M'Intosh, 
Samuel Wise, Esq., and Col. George Pawley. 

In the meantime, the people on the Pedee, fully alive 
to the critical state of affairs and prepared for every emer- 
gency, had spoken in language of no doubtful import on 
those exciting topics which now agitated the public mind. 
The November Courts (1774) having come on, the Honor- 
able Wm. Henry Drayton, one of his Majesty's Assistant- 



210 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Judges,, and Mr. Justice Fewtrell, took the Northern Cir- 
cuit, embracing the Districts of Camden, Cheraws, and 
George-town. Of all the public men of the Province at 
that time, no one was better qualified, in every respect, than 
Judge Drayton, to stir up the minds of the people and keep 
alive in them the spirit of liberty. 

He had been appointed to the Bench the previous winter 
in the place of Mr. Justice Murray, deceased. Prior to 
this time the Bench seems to have been filled with Assistant- 
Judges of independence and property in the Colony, who 
served the public in that capacity without fee or reward. 
Upon the death of Justice Murray, his Majesty^s Council 
found some difficulty in getting a gentleman of proper mark 
and character to take his place, in consequence of the 
inadequate inducement, and the probability, moreover, that 
the appointee would be superseded by a Barrister sent from 
England. The case seemed difficult to the Council, yet a 
Judge must of necessity be appointed. After some time 
spent in agitating the subject, Mr. Drayton (being one of 
the Council) offered his services until some one should be 
selected by the King ; which public-spirited behaviour was 
very readily and unanimously approved by the Lieut.- 
Governor and Council. This was in January, 1774. Not 
long after a Pamphlet appeared, under the signature of 
" Freeman,^^ stating the grievances of America, and present- 
ing a bill of American rights. It was addressed to the 
Congress at Philadelphia, and excited general attention. 
Being understood to have come from the pen of Mr. Dray- 
ton, it gave great offence to the Royal officers and friends 
of the Crown. 

Some strictures were also made in it, respecting the 
writs of assistance to the Customs, granted by the Judges. 
These last fancied the thrust was aimed at them. 

Whereupon, the Chief Justice, Thomas Knox Gordon, and 
one of the Assistant- Judges, Charles Matthew Cosslet, pre- 
sented a remonstrance to the Lieut. -Govr., complaining of 
the publication of " Freeman," charging it to Mr. Drayton, 
and submitting, whether such a person was fit to hold the 
office of Assistant-Judge. To this Judge Drayton replied, 
and before the dispute was settled, the November Circuits 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 211 

came on. Judge Drayton had scarcely left Charles-town 
when Mr, Gregory arrived from England to take his place 
on the Bench.* It would have been a signal gain for the 
Crown^ and as great a loss to the cause of Independence, if 
the last circuit of this illustrious patriot had been pre- 
stalled. 

He appeared at Long Bluff upon the opening of the 
Court, on Tuesday, November ISth^ and delivered the fol- 
lowing charge : — 

" Gentlemen of the Grand Jury, 

" You are now met to 
discharge one of the most important duties in society, for 
you are assembled arbiters of the innocence or guilt of those 
of your fellow-citizens who are so unfortunate as to have 
afforded occasion, however slight, for the laws to take cog- 
nizance of their conduct. 

" You are authorized to pass judgment, in the first 
instance, upon the apparently guilty wretch, and by your 
acquitting voice, to shield apparent innocence from a mali- 
cious prosecution. Such powers have the constitution of 
your country vested in you ; powers no less important than 
truly honorable, when exercised with a fearless integrity. 

" It is your indispensable duty to endeavour to exercise 
those powers with propriety ; it is mine, concisely to point 
out to you the line of your conduct — a conduct, which the 
■^nerable constitution of your country intends, by protect- 
ing the innocent and by delivering the guilty over to the 
course of law, should operate to nourish, in its native vigour, 
even that constitution itself, from whose generous spirit we 
have a title to call ourselves free-men, an appellation which 
peculiarly distinguishes the English subject (those imfortu- 
nately disappointed fellow-citizens in Quebec excepted), and 
ranks them above all the civilized nations of the earth. 
By as much as you prefer freedom to slavery, by so much 
ought you to prefer a generous death to servitude, and to 
hazard everything to endeavour to maintain that rank which 
is so gloriously pre-eminent above all other nations. You 



Drayton's " Memoirs," vol. i. pp. 151-161. 

p 2 



212 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

ought to endeavour to preserve it, not only for its inesti- 
mable value, but from a reverence to our ancestry from whom 
we received it, and from a love of our children, to whom 
we are bound, by every consideration, to deliver down this 
legacy, the most valuable that ever was or ever can be 
delivered to posterity. It is compounded of the most 
generous civil liberty that ever existed, and the sacred 
Christian Religion, released fi^om the absurdities which are 
inculcated, the shackles which are imposed, the tortures 
which are inflicted, and the flames which are lighted, blown 
up and fed with blood, by the Roman Catholic doctrines, 
which tend to establish a most cruel tyranny in Church and 
State — a tyranny under which all Europe groaned for many 
ages. 

^' And such are the distinguishing characters of this legacy, 
which may God, of His infinite goodness and mercy, long 
preserve to us, and graciously continue to our posterity ; 
but, without our pious and unwearied endeavours to preserve 
these blessings, it is folly and presumption to hope for a 
continuance of them ; hence, in order to stimulate your exer- 
tions in favour of your civil liberties, which protect your 
religious rights, instead of discoursing to you of the laws 
of other States, and comparing them to our own, allow me 
to tell you what your civil liberties are, and to charge you, 
which I do in the most solemn manner, to hold them dearer 
than your lives ; a lesson and charge at all times proper 
from a Judge, but particularly so at this crisis, when 
America is in one general and generous commotion touching 
this truly important point. It is unnecessary for me to 
draw any other character of those liberties, than that great 
line by which they are distinguished ; and happy is it for 
the subject, that those liberties can be marked in so easy 
and in so distinguishing a manner. And this is the distin- 
guishing character : English people cannot be taxed, nay, 
they cannot be bound by any law, unless by their consent, 
expressed by themselves, or their Representatives of their 
own election. This Colony was ssttled by English subjects ; 
by a people from England herself; a people who brought 
over with them, who planted in this Colony, and who trans- 
mitted to posterity the invaluable rights of Englishmen — 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 213 

rights which no time, no contract, no climate, can diminish. 
Thus, possessed of such rights, it is of the most serious 
importance that you strictly execute those regulations which 
have arisen from such a parentage, and to which you have 
given the authority of laws, by having given your constitu- 
tional consent that they should operate as laws ; for by your 
not executing what those laws require, you would weaken 
the force, and would show, I may almost say, a treasonable 
contempt of those constitutional rights out of which your 
laws arise, and which you ought to defend and support at 
the hazard of your lives. Hence, by all the ties which 
mankind hold most dear and sacred ; your reverence to your 
ancestors ; your love to your own interests ; your tenderness 
to your posterity ; by the lawful obligations of your oath ; 
I charge you to do your duty; to maintain the laws, the 
rights, the constitution of your country, even at the hazard 
of your lives and fortunes. 

'' Some courtly judges style themselves the king's servants 
— a style which sounds harshly in my ears, inasmuch as the 
being a servant implies obedience to the orders of the 
master ; and such judges might possibly think that, in the 
present situation of American affairs, this charge is incon- 
sistent with my duty to the king. But, for my part, in my 
judicial character, I know no master but the law ; I am a 
servant, not to the king, but to the constitution ; and, in 
my estimation, I shall best discharge my duty as a good 
subject to the king, and a trusty officer under the constitu- 
tion, when I boldly declare the law to the people, and in- 
struct them in their civil rights. 

"' Indeed, you, gentlemen of the Grand Jury, cannot pro- 
perly comprehend your duty, and your great obligation to 
perform it, unless you know those civil rights from which 
these duties spring, and by knowing the value of these 
rights, thence learn your obligation to perform these 
duties. 

" Having thus generally touched upon the nature and im- 
portance of your civil rights, in order to excite you to 
execute those laws to which they have given birth, I will 
now point out to you the particular duties which the laws 
of your country require at your hands. 



214 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

" Unbiassed by affection to^ and unmoved by fear of, any 
man^ or set of men, you are to make presentment of every 
person, and of eveiy proceeding militating against the public 
good. The law orders me particularly to give in charge, to 
watch carefully over our Negro Act, and our Jury Law — a 
law which cannot be too highly valued, whether we regard 
the excellency of its nature, or the importance of its object. 
This law carries in itself an indelible mark of what high 
importance the Legislature thought it, when they enacted 
it ; and it carries in itself, also, a kind of prophecy, that its 
existence, in its native vigour, would in after times be en- 
dangered, and therefore it is that the law orders the Judge 
ever to charge the Grand Juries to watch over it with care ; 
indeed, you ought to do so with the most zealous circum- 
spection. A learned judge says ; ' Every new tribunal 
erected for the decision of facts, without the intervention of 
a jury, is a step towards aristocracy, the most oppressive of 
absolute governments ; and it is therefore a duty which 
every man owes to his country, his friends, to posterity, and 
himself, to maintain to the utmost of his power this valua- 
ble constitution in all its rights j to restore it to its ancient 
dignity, if at all impaired ; to amend it wherever it is de- 
fective ; and, above all, to guard with the most zealous 
circumspection against the introduction of new and arbitrary 
methods of trial, which, under a variety of plausible pre- 
tences, may in time imperceptibly undermine this best 
preservative of English liberty.^ 

" Mr. Justice Blackstone terms the English Trial by Jury, 
the glory of the English law. Let me tell you, our trial 
by jury is that land of glory in full meridian lustre, in com- 
jmrison of which the English mode appears only with 
diminished splendor. But let not your care of this great 
object occupy all your attention. You are to find all such 
Bills of indictment, as the examination of witnesses in sup- 
port of them, may induce you to think there is a probability 
that the fact charged is true ; for you are not to exact such 
circumstantial and positive evidence as would be necessary 
to support the indictment before a Petit Jury. 

" To make these Presentments, and to find these Bills, it 
is not necessary that you all agree in opinion, twelve united 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 215 

voices among you are sufficient to discharge the duties of a 
Grand Jury; but it is absolutely necessary that twelve of 
you agree in opinion upon every point under your consider- 
ation ; and happy, happy, thrice happy are that people who 
cannot be made to suffer under any construction of the 
law, but by the united voices of twenty-^four impartial men, 
having no interest in the cause, but that the laws be exe- 
cuted and justice administered. In short, that you may 
discharge your duty with propriety, and that you may pursue 
that course of conduct which the law requires, let me, in 
the strongest terms, recommend to you, that you keep con- 
stantly in your mind the nature and particulars of the oath 
which you have just taken. To you, this oath is of as much 
importance as the mariner's compass is to those who sail on 
the ocean ; this points out the course of their voyage ; your 
oath as clearly points out to you the course of your conduct. 
I dare say you are willing to discharge that duty which you 
owe to society. I make no doubt but that you will dis- 
charge it with advantage to the public, and therefore with 
honor to yourselves.''"^ 

This able and eloquent vindication of their rights, and 
spirited appeal to his fellow-citizens, both as Americans and 
British subjects, appears to have been carefully prepared for 
the occasion, and delivered by the Judge at the other 
Courts on the Circuit. It was a most critical juncture in 
the affairs of the Colonies. The lines were being drawn, 
and the people were ranging themselves on one side or the 
other, for the rapidly approaching struggle. And then it 
was, that no more timely or influential voice was heard 
among them than that of WiUiam Henry Drayton. Whether 
here, or during his subsequent mission, with Rev. Mr. 
Tennent, among the disaffected in the Ninety- Six District, — 
or in his charges afterwards to .the Grand Juries of Charles- 
town, as Chief Justice, or in the Continental Congress — 
wherever he appeared, the same thrilling tones were heard 
in behalf of liberty. 

The Petit Jury were so much roused by the charge on 



* " American Archives," vol. i. pp. 959-1)02 ; also. So. Ca. and American 
General Gazette, December 16-23, 1774. 



216 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

this occasion tliat they were induced to present (though a 
most unusual course for such a body), a formal address in 
reply, breathing throughovit the lofty spirit of constitutional 
obligation and patriotic devotion to liberty, which his Honor 
had impressed upon them. It was in these words : 

" May it please your Honor, 

" As your Charge at the 
opening of the Sessions contained matters of the highest 
importance to every individual in this Colony, as well as to 
the Grand Jury, to whom in particular it was delivered, we, 
the Petit Jury for the District of Cheraw, beg leave to 
testify our great satisfaction, and to return your Honor 
our warmest acknowledgments for so constitutional a 
charge at this alarming crisis, when our liberties are at- 
tacked, and our properties invaded by the claim and 
attempt of the British Parliament to tax us, and by their 
edicts to bind us in all cases they deem proper; a claim to 
which we will never submit, and an attempt which we are 
determined to oppose at the hazard of our lives and property ; 
being fully convinced, that by the Constitution of this 
Country, we owe obedience to no human laws but such as 
are enacted with the consent of our Representatives in 
General Assembly. These being our fixed sentiments, we 
take this opportunity of publicly declaring them ; and we 
would esteem it a particular favor conferred on us, if your 
Honor would direct your Charge to be printed, that the 
benefit arising from it may be as diffusive as possible, and 
that it may remain as a pattern of that constitutional lan- 
guage which a Judge should deliver, who is above Ministerial 
influence, and knows no Master but the Law."^ 

" Claudius Pegues, Foreman. 
, William White. 

William Hardwick. 

Zachariah Nettles. 

Benjamin Williamson. 

Benjamin Rogers. 



* "American Archives," vol. i. p. 959. This invaluable collection of the 
records of the few years preceding the Revolution is to be found in the Charles- 
ton Library. 8. C. Gazette, December 16-23, 1774.. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 217 

Enoch James. 
William Hickman. 
Jacob Bruce. 
Benjamin Davis. 
Stephen Jackson. 
Joseph Parsons.'^ 

This early declaration of their rights^ as American free- 
men^ and of determined resistance to the encroachments of 
the British Crown to the last extremity, reflected immortal 
honor upon the bold and inflexible patriots of the Old 
Cheraws ! Carolina sent forth no timelier or more fearless 
voice from her borders. Nor were the Grand Jury, to 
whom the charge of his Honor was more specially directed, 
wanting in the spirit befitting such a crisis. They took 
the matter into anxious consideration, and on the 19th of 
November, the day following the address of the Petit Jury, 
made their Presentments in these words (relating first to 
local matters) : — 

'' I. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Law for 
clearing Pedee River, and to prevent trees being felled 
therein, its navigation at present being unsafe. 

" II. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Law to 
prevent the hunting of deer by fire in the night time, by 
which means many horses and neat cattle are destroyed, to 
the great damage of the owners. 

" III. We present Andrew Gibson for wilfid and deli- 
berate perjury ; by the information of George Cusack. 

" IV. We present, as a grievance of the first magnitude, 
the right claimed by the British Parliament to tax us, and 
by their acts to bind us in all cases whatsoever. AYhen we 
reflect on our other grievances, they all appear trifling in 
comparison with this j for if we may be taxed, imprisoned, 
and deprived of life, by the force of edicts to which neither 
we or our Constitutional Representatives have ever assented, 
no slavery can be more abject than ours. 

" We are, however, sensible that we have a better secu- 
rity for our lives, our liberties, and fortunes, than the mere 
will of the Parliament of Great Britain ; and are fully con- 
vinced that we cannot be constitutionally taxed but by Re- 



218 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

presentatives of our own election, or bound by any laws 
than those to which they have assented. 

" This right of being exempted from all laws but those 
enacted with the consent of Representatives of our own elec- 
tioUj we deem so essential to our freedom^ and so engrafted 
in our Constitution, that we are determined to defend it at 
the hazard of our lives and fortunes ; and we earnestly re- 
quest that this Presentment may be laid before our Consti- 
tutional Representatives, the Commons House of Assembly 
of this Colony, that it may be known how much we prize 
our freedom, and how resolved we are to preserve it. 

" We recommend that these Presentments be published 
in the several Gazettes of this Province.* 



Alexander M'Intosh, Foreman. 


L.S. 


Henry W. Harrington. 


L.S. 


Thomas Ay res. 


L.S. 


Robert Blair. 


L.S. 


William Pegues. 


L.S. 


Robert Lide. 


L.S. 


George Hicks. 


LS. 


John Hodges. 


L.S. 


Arthur Hart. 


L.S. 


Elias Du Bois. 


L.S. 


Robert Clary. 


L.S. 


Martin Dewitt. 


L.S. 


Thomas EUerbe. 


LS. 


Martin Kolb. 


L.S. 


John Kimbrough. 


L.S. 


Moses Speight. 


L.S. 


Thomas Lide. 


L.S. 


Thomas James. 


L.S. 


John Wilds. 


L.S. 


Thomas Edwards. 


L.S. 



" Whereupon the following order was passed, viz. : — 

" South Carolina, 

" Cheraws District. 
" At a Court of General Sessions of the Peace, Oyer and 



* "American Archives," vol. i. p. 959 ; S. C. Gazeite, Dec. 16-2.3, 1774. 



HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 219 

Terminer,, Assize and General Jail Delivery, begun and 
holden at CherawSj on tlie 15tli day of November, in the 
year of our Lord, 1774, before the Honorable William 
Henry Drayton, Esq., one of the Justices of our Sovereign 
Lord the King, Ordered, that the Charge of his Honor, the 
Judge, together with the address presented to his Honor by 
the Petit Jury, immediately before their discharge on the 
18th inst., and the Presentments of the Grand Jury, the 
next day, at the present Sessions, be published in the seve- 
ral Gazettes of this Province. 

" By the Court, 

" Calvin Spencer, 
" D.C.C. & P.'' 

Thus, in language as manly as had been previously 
uttered, did the Grand Jury give expression to those lofty 
sentiments which had taken deep hold of the hearts of the 
people. In doing so, they gave utterance to those convic- 
tions which repeated acts of oppression had only served to 
strengthen. The idea of a true constitutional representa- 
tion was now as thoroughly comprehended, as the determi- 
nation was fixed to secure it, or perish in the attempt. 

It is questionable, whether any earlier or bolder declara- 
tion of rights is to be found in our Provincial records. 

The Charge of Judge Drayton, delivered at the Cheraws, 
and other Courts of the Circuit, with the Presentments of 
the several Grand Juries, was laid by the Ministers before 
the two Houses of Parliament, and made the subject of ex- 
citing and indignant comment."^ 

In his celebrated Charge to the Grand Jury of Charles- 
town, in April, 1776 — a charge "replete with patriotism, 
reasoning, and learning" — Judge Drayton, then Chief Jus- 
tice, alluded to this subject, saying : " The British Ministers 
already have presented a Charge of mine to the notice of 
the Lords and Commons in Parliament ; and I am nothing 
loath that they take equal resentment against this Charge. 
Por, supported by the fundamental laws of the Constitution, 
and engaged as I am in the cause of virtue, I fear no con- 
sequences from their machinations.''''t 

* " Drayton's Memoirs," vol. i. p. 216. f Preface to ditto, p. xvi. 



^20 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

It was to be expected^ that a Judge, who could speak in 
tones of such eloquent defiance, would be speedily removed 
from the Bench ; and accordingly, he was superseded the 
next month (December), by a more subservient suc- 
cessor. 

The important part performed by Judge Drayton in pre- 
paring the way for Independence, has not in later times 
been fully estimated. 

He left a kingly bench only to shine with more brilliant 
lustre, if possible, as Chief Justice of a Republican Court ; 
and from that high position to be transferred to the Conti- 
nental Congress by the united voice of his countrymen. 
Wliile engaged in the active labors of that body in Phila- 
delphia, in Sept. 1779, his honored life was prematurely 
brought to a close, not having completed by a few days his 
thirty-seventh year. Seldom indeed has such a man, at so 
early an age, gone down to the grave, after a career of 
labour and a reputation like his. The sounds of universal 
mourning were heard, and Carolina grieved as a mother for 
her favorite son ! 

In the midst of the excitement to which the discussion 
of the momentous questions of political rights and con- 
stitutional liberty gave birth, the debt of charity which 
common sufferings in a common cause created, was not. 
overlooked. 

One of the resolutions passed at the General Provincial 
Meeting in Charles-town, in July (1774), was in these 
words, viz. : — 

" Resolved, That while the oppressive acts relative to 
Boston are enforced, we will cheerfully, from time to time, 
contribute towards the relief of those poor persons there, 
whose unfortunate circumstances may be thought to stand 
in need of most assistance.^' 

Before this time, indeed, subscriptions had been opened 
in Charles- town to relieve the suffering poor of Boston, 
who had been usually employed in the trade of that town, 
and were now by the acts of the British Government de- 
prived of employment. On the 29th of June, 204 barrels 
of rice were sent from Charles-town for their support, while 
the subscription was still promoted, as a source of future 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



221 



supply.^ There was a general response throughout the 
Province. 

The following interesting record remains to do honor to 
the patriotic sympathies of the people of the Pedee. The 
list embraces the names chiefly of persons in the middle 
and upper parts of St. David^s Parish. Other similar sub- 
scriptions were doubtless circulated. 

Account of Cash received for the Poor of Boston, by 
Henry W. Harrington. 
1774. Dec. 27. 

Of Philip Pledger 
Of Arthm- Hart . . 
Of H. W. Harrington 
Of John Warden, 
Of Abraham Parks, 
Of Noble Barnard, 
Of George Wright, 
Of Ethelred Rogers, 

1774. Dec. 30. 

Of Walter Downs 



by Mr. Hart 
by ditto 
by ditto 
by ditto 
by ditto 



1775. Jan. 2. 

Of Henry Councel . 

Of Claudius Pegues, 

Of Thomas Lide, 

Of Nathanael Saunders, 

Of Malachi Murfee, Jun., 

Of James Reed, 

Of Thomas Williams, 

Of John Andrews, 

Of Burrell Boykin, 

Of William Pegues, 

Of James Sanders, 

Of David Roche, 

Of George Hicks, 



by Mr. Hicks 
by ditto 
ditto 
ditto 
ditto 
ditto 
ditto 
ditto 
ditto 
ditto 
Self 
ditto 



by 
by 
by 
by 
by 
by 
by 
by 
by 

by 



£ 


s. d. 


13 





7 


7 


13 





1 


15 


3 


10 


1 


12 6 


1 


12 6 


1 


12 6 



1 12 6 



1 
13 
13 

8 
8 
1 
1 
1 
3 
7 

10 
1 

10 



12 6 


5 
2 6 

12 6 

12 6 

5 
7 


12 G 




£125 11 6 



Paid this sum to Col. G. G. Powell. 



* " Drayton's Memoirs," vol. i. p. 113. 



222 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

1775. Jan. 27. £ s. d. 

Of Daniel Sparks, by self 1 12 6 

1775. Feb. 7. 

Of Thomas Ellerbe 6 

Of William Hardick 1 12 6 

Of Thomas Bingham 1 12 6 

Of Francis Gillespie 3 5 

Of John Donaldson 5 

Of Magnus Corgill, 5 bush, corn, at 12s. 6d. 3 2 

1775. May 23. 

Of Abel Edwards 2 10 

24 15 
Of the Council of Safety, agreeably to an 

order of the Committee 27 



£51 15 
Cr. 

1775. May 20. £ s. d. 
By cash paid by H. W. Har- 
rington to Pike Johnson, for 
bringing an express . . . 27 

1776. Nov. 2. 

By cash paid to the Committee 

by H. W. Harrington . . . 24 15 

51 15 0^ 

Thus the year, 1774, in its eventful progress, drew to a 
close — a year for ever memorable in the history of St. 
David's Parish and the " Old Cheraws." 

To the first appeals in behalf of liberty, a hearty response 
was made by their inhabitants. 



* The original book of entry, with this subscription and other interesting and 
very valuable matter, was found among the papers of Philip Pledger, Esq., of 
Marlborough, alreiuly referred to, and though subsequently used for common 
purposes of memorandum and account, happily escaped the ravages of time, 
and remains, in all probability, the only relic of the kind connected with the 
efforts made by the patriots of Carolina, under the action of the Provincial 
Congress, for raising funds for the suffering poor of Boston — the saddest com- 
mentary, it may also be added, furnished by the history of that era, on the 
changes that have taken place since ! 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 223 

The approaching crisis found them ready, intelligent, 
watchful, and unyielding defenders of every sacred right. 
Among the first to make known their political sentiments 
to the world, they were not behind the foremost in the 
vigor and boldness of style in which those sentiments were 
expressed. The documents which have been given, will 
compare favorably with any of a similar kind to which this 
eventful era gave birth ; and were only surpassed, if at all, 
as to a spirit of lofty defiance, by sentiments subsequently 
uttered by the patriots of the Pedee themselves. 

And yet, so slow are mankind to relinquish long-existing 
habits of thought and feeling, and so deeply rooted is the 
attachment toforms of Government immemorially established, 
that even at this point, far as they had gone, any reason- 
able concessions on the part of the Crown and the repeal of 
a few odious acts of Parliament, with the exhibition of a 
spirit of justice and consideration for the Colonies, might 
have turned back the rising tide of rebellion, and secured 
for the king once more the affection of his faithful subjects. 

But such concessions were not to be made. The suicidal 
policy of the Government was pursued with a strange in- 
fatuation. The die had been cast. The hand of Provi- 
dence was in the work ; and many tribes and tongues who 
looked from afar upon the unnatural conflict, deeply in- 
terested in its issues, anxiously waited for their final de- 
liverance, and rejoiced as the end came, to call the patriots 
of America blessed ! 



224 HISTORY OF the old ciieraws. 



CHAPTER XI. 

T>nst days of Royalty in So. Ca. — List of appointees of the Crown published — 
Object of publication — Mapjistrates for Cheraws District — Regimental officers 
of militia for Cheraws — Meeting of Provincial Congress — Account of it — 
Members fm- St. David's — District committees appointed — Connnittce of St. 
David's — Duties of committees — Their powers — Additional power given — 
Inhabitants to arm themselves — Circuit Court for Cheraws — His Majesty's 
Justices appear for last time — Presentment of grand jury of Cheraws — 
Attempt of Court to quash cliief presentment — It appears in the papers — 
Reflections on these proceedings — Grand jury exponent of popular sentiment 
— Congress called together before time fixed for meeting — Ch'cular letter 
on subject — Articles of Association adopted — Other resolves — Military ardour 
of people — Provincial officers elected by Con^rress from St. David's — Names 
of persons added to Committee of Observation for St. David's — Action of 
committee as to Colonel Steward and John Mitchell — New election for 
Congress ordered — Spirit of volunteering — William Henry Harrington 
commissioned Captain — Stockade Fort at Cheraws — History of it— Volun- 
teering increases — Commissions issued for St. David's parish — Dissatisfac- 
tions — Captain Wise resigns — His charai.-ter — Congress meets — Its action 
as to St. David's — Detachment from Colonel Powell's regiment ordered to 
join Colonel Richardson — Major Thomas m.irciies — Colonel Hicks stopped — 
Conflict with Tories on Pedee — -Concluding remarks. 

"With the opening of the year 1775, everything indicated 
the approach of the hist days of Royalty in South Carolina. 
There was an evident effort on the part of the officers of 
the Crown, if not to assume more authority, at least to 
make the most, by public demonstrations, of Avhat they had. 
Their object was to impress and overawe the people. The 
tiiiie, however, for effect, by means like these, had passed. 
The charm which Majesty had carried witli it Avas gone. 
The insignia of office did not attract as heretofore, while 
promises and threats, though in the name of the King, 
were stript of their ancient powers. 

There was in the popular mind a growing consciousness 
of right, and of the strength which a righteous cause im- 
parts. Names now passed for what they were worth, and 
things were rated according to their intrinsic value. 

So it has ever been in the history of those great revolu- 
tions in human opinion which have overthrown successive 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 225 

dynasties^ or Imrled the mightiest monarchs from their 
thrones. Once the veil is taken away and the bonds are 
cast asunder, the progress of liberal thought becomes hence- 
forth as rapid as it had been fixed, or even retrograde in 
its state of unnatural bondage. Men wonder then that 
they did not discover the right or see the wrong before, 
and wondering thus, are not unfrequently impelled to 
hasty, and as a consequence, unhealthy action. The de- 
cline of royalty from what it had been in the American 
Colonies before the opening stages of the Revolution, is 
in some respects a sadly touching story. So much was 
there on the one hand to be lost and such wondrous 
pomp to be brought low, with so many long-existing ties 
on the other to be rudely severed, that the heart cannot 
remain unmoved at the recital. 

The year 1775 opened with an order on the part of 
Government, the object of which seems to have been, in 
part at least, to recall the leading inhabitants, by the 
very fact and public declaration of official position, to a 
sense of their allegiance to the king ; and also to impress 
the people, by such an exhibition of royal prerogative, with 
the vigor and determination of the existing rule. 

This action was as follows, viz. : — 

" South Carolina, Jan. 9tb, 1775. 

"It is ordered by his Honor, the Lieutenant-Governor, 
in Council, that the names of the Magistrates for the several 
districts in this Province be printed in the several Gazettes.'"^ 

The names of the Magistrates for Cheraw District, as 
published, were these, viz. : " William Arthur, Thomas 
"VVade, James Lindlay, Henry Patrick, Claudius Pegues, 
Charles Augustus Steward, Thomas Turner, John Perkins, 
Arthur Hart, Alexaader M'Intosh, Philip Pledger, and Wm. 
Henry Harrington." In this list of his Majesty's Justices 
for Cheraws, are found the .uames of some who had already 
become conspicuous from their opposition to the encroach- 
ments of the C ">wn. It may have been a stroke of policy 
as to them ; but if so, it seems to little purpose that the 



* So. Ca. Gazette, January G-13, 1775. 



226 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

effort was made. These devoted Mends of liberty never 
faltered in the course they had begun. They were true 
indeed to their king^ as far as he would allow them to be, 
but not less true to themselves, as the first instincts of 
nature prompted them. 

The names of the officers of the Provincial Militia were 
likewise published in the early part of this year. The 
militia at this time consisted of twelve regiments of foot 
and one of horse. The Regiment of Cheraws District was 
the 7th of Foot, with the following officers, viz. : George 
Gabriel Powell, Colonel ; Charles Augustus Steward, Lieut. - 
Col., and Abraham Buckholdts, Major.* These officers 
were all of royal appointment, and hence the appeal to 
their fidelity, and the stigma, as it was thought, which 
might thus be made to attach to their desertion from their 
sovereign's cause. If the Government, long established, 
was to continue undisturbed in the exercise of its authority, 
the increasing pressure of the time called for redoubled 
efforts, and made it necessary for the prerogatives of the 
king to be stretched to their utmost bounds. 

The delegates elected by the several districts and parishes 
in November, were to meet in Charles-town on the 11th of 
January of this year. 

This new representative body was destined to give shape 
and effectiveness to the ri:>ing spirit of discontent through- 
out the colony, and to mark an era in its history. 

The following notice of its first assembling appeared in 
the papers of the day. 

« Cbarles-town, Jan. 13th, 1775. 
" On Wednesday last the gentlemen chosen by the 
several parishes, &c., in this Province, convened here in a 
general meeting, and elected Charles Pinckncy, Esq., Chair- 
man. The meeting has been continued every day since, 
and is now sitting. We have been favored with the fol- 
lowing list of the gentleme^ elected.^'f Of these, the 
names for St. David were those already given, viz. : Hon. 
George Gabriel Powell, Samuel Wise, Claudius Pegues, 



* Drayton's " Memoirs," vol. i. p. 352. 
f Qazetie, January 13, 1775. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 227 

Alexander M'lntosh,, Henry William Harrington, Esqrs., 
and Col. George Pawley. During the session the members 
resolved themselves into " a Provineial Congress/^ and the 
body was thus designated afterward. The proceedings of 
the Continental Congress, which had adjourned in October 
previous, were submitted to its consideration. One of the 
Articles of Association, adopted by the Continental Congress 
on the 26th October, was in these words, viz. : " Eleventh — 
That a Committee be chosen in every county, city, and 
town by those who are qualified to vote for Representatives 
in the Legislature, whose business it shall be attentively to 
observe the conduct of all persons touching this association ; 
and when it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of a 
majority of any such Committee, that any person within 
the limits of their appointment has violated this association, 
that such majority do forthwith cause the truth of the case 
to be published in the Gazettes, to the end that all such 
foes to the rights of British America may be publicly 
known and universally contemned as the enemies of Ameri- 
can liberty ; and thenceforth we j'espectively will break off 
all dealings with him or her.^'^ In accordance with this 
recommendation, it was resolved by the Provincial Congress, 
on the first day of its sitting, that the following gentlemen 
be the committees for the several districts and parishes 
hereinafter mentioned, for effectually carrying into execu- 
tion the Continental Association, and for receiving and 
determining upon applications relative to the law processes, 
&c. The committee under this resolution for the Parish of 
St. David consisted of the following gentlemen, viz. : Henry 
William Harrington, George Pawley, Alexander Mcintosh, 
Claudius Pcgues, Burwell Boyakin, George Hicks, Phili}) 
Pledger, and John Donaldson. According to the system of 
Government and its subordinate authorities for the Colony, 
established by the Congress, the rcpi'csentatives of the 
parishes and districts respectively composed their local 
committees ; and they were also assisted by Committees of 
Inspection. The Provincial Congress made all these 
appointments in the first instance ; and even filled up the 



* Ramsay's " Revolution in So. Ca.," vol. i. p. 25S. 

q3 



228 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

double returns of representatives, in order that no time 
should be lost in giving a complete appearance to the body 
politic and the greatest energy to their operations ; but all 
future vacancies were to be filled up by the respective dis- 
tricts and parishes in which they should occur. 

By these arrangements an independent authority virtually 
arose ; while the Royal Government retained little else than 
public officers without power, and a show of government 
•.without the means of supporting it.* This plan seems not 
to have been carried out fully as to St. David's Parish, so 
far as the committee being identical with its delegates in 
the Congress. 

The Committees of Inspection were distributed through- 
out the district or parish, so as to secure a thorough over- 
sight in every part. The central or executive committee 
was to meet twice a month for consultation and despatch 
of business. The system was admirably arranged, and gave 
unity and efficiency to the general efforts to prepare the 
way for revolution and a change of government. 

It was further resolved, " That it is the unanimous 
opinion of this Congress, that no action for any debt shall 
be commenced in the Court of Common Pleas of this 
colony, nor any such action pending there, which was com- 
menced since last September return, be proceeded in, 
without the consent of the committee of the parish or 
district in which the defendant resides, until it shall be 
otherwise determined in Provincial Congress — That the said 
committees respectively, or a majority of such of them as 
shall meet (provided they are not less than three, in the 
country parishes and districts), do, upon application, give 
permission for the bringing or proceeding in such suits, in 
the following cases — that is to say, where the debtors re- 
fused to renew their obligations, or to give reasonable 
security, or are justly suspected of intending to leave the 
Province, or to defraud their creditors, or where there shall 
appear to the majority of such committees, as aforesaid, 
any other reasonable cause for the granting such permis- 
sion ; which committees shall meet and sit on the first and 



* Drayton's *• Memoirs," vol. i. p. 175. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 229 

third Saturdays in every month, at twelve o^clock at noon, 
or oftener, as it shall be found necessary, for the purposes of 
hearing and determining on such applications. That seizures 
and sales upon mortgages shall be considered on the same 
footing as actions for debt. That it be recommended to 
the committees for each parish and district, that they use 
their best endeavours to prevent any debtors from removing 
their effects out of the colony, without the knowledge and 
consent of their creditors. That the Congress will in- 
demnify the committees for so doing. And that no sum- 
mons shall be issued by any magistrate in small and mean 
causes, without the like consent.^""^ 

A resolution passed at a subsequent meeting of the Con- 
gress in June, conferred additional powers on the committees, 
and was in these words : — " Resolved, that any person having 
violated, or refused obedience to the authority of the Pro- 
vincial Congress, shall, by the committee of the district or 
parish in Avliich such offender resides, be questioned relative 
thereto; and upon due conviction of either of the offences 
aforesaid, and continuing contumacious, such person shall, 
by such committee, be declared and advertised as an enemy 
to the liberties of America, and an object of the resentment 
of the public ; and that the said committee shall be sup- 
ported in so doing.^^t 

The committees w«re requested to use their utmost en- 
deavors to obtain liberal subscriptions for the suffering- 
people of Boston. 

Eesolutions were also passed, recommending that all the 
inhabitants of the colony should be attentive in learning 
the use of arms ; and tliat their officers should train and 
exercise them at least once a fortnight. 

The Congress then adjourned, January 17th, until it 
should be called together by the Charles-town General Com- 
mittee. 

Such was the state of things now, that those who werc; 
not well affected began to be seriously alarmed, and, doubt- 
less, to organize as well as they could for the approaching 



* " American Arcliives," vol. i. p. 1109. 
■j- Ibid., p. 953, and " Journal of the Congress.' 



230 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

conflict. Some evidences of this will be found towards the 
close of the year. Others, not willing to take up arms 
against their adopted country, arranged their affairs so as to 
go abroad. Events were transpiring in rapid succession, 
startling to the officers of the Crown, and committing the 
rising sons of liberty more unchangeably to the lofty and 
unyielding position they had taken. 

Once more were the people of Cheraws District, in the 
highest capacity known to the law, to make a public decla- 
ration of their sentiments, but not, as before, in the presence 
of one who had encouraged them, by his own fearless bear- 
ing and eloquent tones, to resistance. 

His Majesty^s Justices made their last circuit in the 
spring of 1775. The successor of Judge Drayton, Justice 
Gregory, with Justice Savage, appeared on the Northern 
Circuit. The course of Judge Drayton had equally alarmed 
and offended the Royal Government, and it was doubtless 
arranged for his successor to preside in this part of the 
Province for the first time, so as to efface to some extent, if 
possible, the impression which had been made, and stem at 
the outset the tide of independence. 

Some e^ddences of such an attempt, though worse than 
fruitless, will be found in the conduct of the King's Judges 
on this occasion. 

The action of the Grand Jury, so far as it was published 
by order of the Court, was as follows, viz. : — 

" The Presentments of the Grand Jurors for the District 
of Cheraws, &c., at Long Bluff, Saturday, the 15th day of 
April, 1775. 

" I. We present, as a grievance, the want of a new Jury 
list in this district. 

" II. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Law for 
cleansing Pedec River, and to prevent trees being felled 
therein, its navigation at present being extremely dan- 
gerous. 

" III. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Bridge 
over Thompson's Creek, on the road from the Cheraw Hill 
to the Court House ; and another over Black Creek, at or 
near the present ferry. 

" IV. We present, as a very great grievance, the want of 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 231 

a Vagrant Act in tins Province ; this district in particular 
being much infested by many idle people, who have no 
visible way of obtaining an honest livelihood. 

'' We present, as a grievance, the little notice generally 
taken of the Presentments of the Grand Juries of this 
district. 

" Lastly. We recommend that these, our Presentments, 
may, by order of the Court, be laid before the Commons 
House of Assembly of this Colony, and be made public in 
the Gazettes. 



Thomas Lide, Foreman. 


L.S. 


Samuel Wise. 


L.S. 


John Kimbrough. 


L.S. 


John Ellerbe. 


L.S. 


Charles M'Call. 


L.S. 


William Dewitt. 


L.S. 


Peter Kolb. 


L.S. 


Moses Speight. 


L.S. 


Aaron Daniel. 


L.S. 


Magnus Corgill. 


L.S. 


Zachariah Nettles. 


L.S. 


Benjamin Jackson. 


L.S. 


Claudius Pegues. 


L.S. 


William Pouncey. 


L.S. 


Benjamin Rogers. 


L.S. 


Thomas Bingham. 


L.S. 



Unfortunately for the cause of royalty, the additional 
matter was published, viz. : — 

" The Grand Jury likcAvise offered the following as a Pre- 
sentment, but it was quashed by the Court : ' We present, 
as an enormous grievance, the power exercised by the 
British Parliament of taxing and making laws, binding 
upon the American Colonies in all cases whatsoever, such 
power being subversive of the most inestimable rights of 
British subjects — that of being taxed by their consent only, 
given by their Representatives in General Assembly, and 
that of trial by jury — both which are evidently inherent in 
every British American, and of which no power on earth can 
legally deprive them : We, well knowing the importance of 



232 HISTORY OF TUB OLD CHERAWS. 

these rights^ in securing to us our liberties^ lives, and 
estates, and conceiving it to be every man^s indispensable 
duty to transmit them to his posterity, are fully determined 
to defend them at the hazard of our lives and fortunes. 

" ' At the same time that we thus openly declare how 
highly we prize our rights, we beg leave to assure your 
Honor that we have a due sense of that allegiance, so 
strongly recommended to us by your Honor in your charge ; 
and that while our Sovereign adheres to his part of that 
original and reciprocal contract made with his people, and 
expressed in his Coronation Oath, none of his subjects shall 
exceed us in constitutional submission and fidelity. 

" ' As your Honor, on the second day of the Sessions, was 
pleased, not only to acquaint us your Honor had been 
informed, " that some of the magistrates of this district 
had declared to the people that there was no law," but also 
to recommend to us, '^ to make strict inquiry, and to present 
all such magistrates, that they might be deservedly struck 
out of the commission of the peace : " we think it incum- 
bent on us to assure your Honor that, notwithstanding we 
have made all possible enquiry, we have not received the 
least information, except from your Honor, in the general 
terms above expressed, of any of the magistrates having 
acted so exceeding indiscreetly ; and therefore, we cannot 
but conceive, that some wicked, malicious persons, enemies 
to the happiness and prosj)crity of this country, have en- 
deavored, by false and secret accusations, to prejudice your 
Honor against some of the magistrates in this district; 
but, as the informers have not thought proper to support 
their accusations in public, which they venture to advance 
in private, we trust that your Honor will transfer your dis- 
pleasure from the innocent accused, to the base accusers.^ "* 

It is manifest, from this bold and spirited document, 
which the Court very unwisely and vainly attempted to sup- 
press, that the people of Cheraws District, instead of rece- 
ding from the position taken the year before, had gone 
further in the fearless expression of their sentiments, and 
in commenting on the remissness of the Government. It 



* Gazette, June 9-16, 1775. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 233 

had not yet become customary to call public meetings, except 
in the larger towns, as a means of giving expression to the 
opinions of the people on questions of political moment. 
The settlements in the interior were too remote from each 
other to render it practicable. The Grand Jury was there- 
fore made the exponent of the popular sentiment, as the 
most authoritative and imposing organ by which tlie feel- 
ings of a people, under such circumstances, could be 
expressed. Though the Court could quash, the Press could 
not be silenced. And Avhat his Majesty's Justice would not 
allow to be entered on the records, was given shortly after, 
in a more public form, to the world. The Grand Jury of 
Cheraws is believed to have been the only one in the Pro- 
vince which made the wrongs inflicted by the Crown the 
subject of presentment during the Spring Assizes."^ 

Their vindication of the magistrates, t upon whom the 
Court reflected with so much severity, was as bold as the call- 
ing attention to the fact " of the little notice generally taken 
of the Presentments of the Grand Juries of this District.^' 

The issue was now made with the King by his loyal 
subjects, on the ground of his own solemn coronation oath, 
the principle being, " that protection and subjection are 
reciprocal ; and that these reciprocal duties form the original 
contract between King and people"J — a contract which is 
broken if the Sovereign oppresses on the one hand, or fails, 
through any fault of his, on the other, to afford due protec- 
tion. 

The tide of events was rolling on. The Provincial Con- 
gress had adjourned to meet on the 20th of June. 

But intelligence of the battle of Lexington, which had 
taken place on the 19th of April, reached Charles-town, and 
was laid before the General Committee on the 8th of May. 
Upon which a vote was passed to summon the Congress to 
meet on the first day of June. For now that hostilities had 



* The Courts of Charles-town, George-town, and Beaufort, at least, were 
silent, and the silence of the press leads to the inference that others were also. 

t The list of magistrates, as given on a foregoing page, embraced some of the 
most prominent and influential men in the district. They had doubtless made 
themselves obnoxious to the Crown. 

X Judge Drayton's charge to Grand Jury of Charles-town, " Ramsay," 
vol. i. p. 114. 



234 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

actually commenced, immediate and decided measures were 
deemed necessary for promoting the public welfare. One of 
the Circular Letters sent out to call the Congress together, 
was as follows, viz. : — 

" To the Committee for the Parish of St. Da\T.d. 

" To the care of Henry Wm. Harrington, Esqr. 

" On the Public Service. 

" Charles-town, May 8th, 1775. 
" Gentlemen, — We enclose you a newspaper, giving an 
important account of an action between the British Troops 
and the Bostonians. Upon this interesting event, the 
General Committee have thought it absolutely necessary to 
call the Provincial Congress to meet at an earlier day than 
the 20th of June. They have therefore resolved that the 
Congress shall meet in Charles -town on the 1st of June. 

We hereby transmit a proper notice of this new appoint- 
ment, and hope you will punctually attend at the appointed 
time. The General Committee have also given in charge 
to us, to recommend in the strongest terms to you, to cause 
the patrols to ride often and diligently, as we have intelli- 
gence of exciting the slaves to revolt has been laid before 
Administration ; and you are desired to keep this intelli- 
gence relating to the slaves as secret as may be. 
"■ We are Gentlemen, 

'' Your most obedient servants, 
Wm. Henry Drayton. 
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 
Wm. Tennent. 
Arthur Middleton. 
John Lewis Gervais. 

" P.S. — You will give as general notice to the Members of 
the Congress as you possibly can." 

Of the diabolical plan here alluded to, for exciting the 
slaves to revolt, no further notice appears in the histories of 
the day. If conceived at all, it was doubtless foynd to be 
either imj)racticable, or calculated to drive the inhabitants 
to desperate measures of revenge, and hence abandoned. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 235 

On the 1st of June, one hnndred and seventy-two mem- 
bers of the Congress met, and such was the zeal of the people 
and alarm felt throughout the Province, that on the second 
day, an Association was considered and passed, to be entered 
into by the inhabitants of the colony, to which the mem- 
bers forthwith affixed their names. It was in these words, 
viz. : — 

" South Carolina. 

" The actual commencement of hostilities against this 
continent by the British Troops, in the bloody scene on the 
I9th of April last, near Boston, the increase of arbitrary 
impositions from a wicked and despotic ministry, and the 
dread of insurrection in the colonies — are causes sufficient 
to drive an oppressed people to the use of arms. We, 
therefore, the Subscribers, inhabitants of South Carolina, 
holding ourselves bound b}'' that most sacred of all obliga- 
tions, the duty of good citizens towards an injured country, 
and thoroughly convinced, that under our present distressed 
circumstances, we shall be justified before God and man in 
resisting force by force ; do unite ourselves, under every 
tie of religion and honor, and associate as a band- in her de- 
fence against every foe; hereby solemnly engaging that, when- 
ever our Continental or Provincial Councils shall decree it 
necessary, we will go forth and be ready to sacrifice our 
lives and fortunes to secure her fi'eedom and support. 
This obligation to continue in full force until a reconcilia- 
tion shall take place between Great Britain and America, 
upon Constitutional principles, an event which we most 
ardently desire. And we will hold all those persons in- 
imical to the liberties of the colonies who shall refuse to 
subscribe this association.^' 

Non-subscribers were made amenable to the General Com- 
mittee and by them punishable, according to sound policy. 

It was also resolved, " That all absentees holding estates in 
the colony, except those who were abroad on account of 
their health, and those above 60 years, and those under 21, 
ought forthwith to return ; and that no persons holding 
estates in this colony ought to withdraw from its service, 
without giving good and sufficient reason for so doing, to 



236 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

the Provincial Congress ; or, during its recess, to the General 
Committee.""^ On the 5th day of the session, the Congress 
resolved to raise 1500 Infantry, rank and file, in tvro regi- 
ments ; and 450 Horse Rangers, constituting another regi- 
ment. Proper pay, clothing, and provisions were assigned 
them ; and the troops so raised were to be subjected to 
military discipline and the articles of war, in like manner 
as the British troops were governed. 

So great, we are told, was the military ardor among the 
gentlemen of the Province, that the candidates for com- 
missions in the proposed regiments were four times as nume- 
rous as could be emj)loyed ; and in their number were many 
of the first families and fortune. In making a selection 
among the numerous candidates that offered, care was taken 
to choose men of influence, decision and spirit, residing in 
different parts of the Province, so as to unite all its energies 
in the common cause. 

Four or five had the recommendation of having served 
in the war of 1756; but the other candidates were pre- 
ferred solely on the ground of their possessing the natural 
qualifications requisite for making good officers, in addition 
to their holding an influential rank among their fellow 
citizens. t 

Soon after the resolution passed for raising the regi- 
ments, a ballot for officers was held. Of these, Alexander 
Mcintosh, of Cheraws, was elected Major of the 2nd Regi- 
ment. He had held the commission of captain some years 
before. His decision and energy, with a commanding 
person and ample fortune, gave him a peculiar fitness for 
the position. Of the Regiment of Rangers, Samuel Wise 
and Eli Kershaw, from the Cheraw District, were elected 
Captains, and John Donaldson, a First Lieutenant. On the 
18th of June, Isaac DuBose, received the commission of 
Second Lieut, in the 2nd Regiment of Foot. Major 
M'Intosh was soon after promoted, and continued in active 
service. Captain Wise Avas also promoted to the rank of 
Major in the same Regiment. 



* Drayton's " Memoirs," vol. i. pp. 255, 256. 
■j" " Ramsay," new edition, p. 135. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 237 

In meeting of the Council of Safety in Charles-town, 
23i'd June, 1775, it was resolved, "That, in prosecution of 
the Resolution of the ProA'incial Congress of the 19th inst., 
the Committee of Observation for the Parish of St. DaWd, 
do allow INIr. John Mitchell, of Meldrum, the sum of seven- 
teen shillings, sixpence, per pound, for three hundred and 
ninety-two pounds weight of gunpowder, bought of him, and 
that they do draw for payment thereof, upon this Council. 

" Resolved, That the said gunpowder do remain in the 
hands of the said committee, for the public service, and that 
they do account for the same with this Council. ^^"^ 

On the 22nd of June, the Provincial Congress Resolved, 
" That the following gentlemen be added to the Committee- 
of Observation for the Parish of St. David, viz., Messrs. 
David Williams, Ely Kershaw, William Dewitt, Thomas 
Ellerbe, John A Iran, John Kimbrough, William Pegues, 
Elias Du Bois, Charles Evans, Juur., Benjamin Rogers, 
Arthur Hart, Robert Lide, Aaron Daniel, Francis Gillespie, 
Thomas Powe, Thomas Lide, Henry Counsel, Thomas 
Edwards, Benjamin Jackson, and Abel Kolb.^f 

The duties of the committee were most responsible and 
arduous, and the number first appointed, doubtless, proved 
too small to take due oversight of the extensive territory 
embraced within the limits of St. David's. Of those here 
added, there was about an equal distribution among the 
different sections of the parish. 

It was not long before they were called to take decisive 
action as to two of their fellow- citizens, who had hitherto 
maintained a highly respectable position as neighbors and 
friends. 

The following record of their proceedings remains. J 

" In Committee of Observation. 

" St. David's Parish, August 7tli, 1775. 

" Charles Augustus Steward, Esq., having counteracted the 
Resolves of the Provincial Congress in frequently issuing 



* " Collections of Historical Society of So. Ca.," vol. ii. p. 27. 
t Supplement to Carolina Gazette of September 7tb, 1775. 
X So. Ca. Gazette, October 3, 1775. 



238 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

summons for debt, was this day caused to appear before tbe 
committee for said Parish, aud being questioned relative 
thereto, acknowledged that he had so done, and, if applied 
to, should again. 

" Resolved, thereupon, that the said Charles Augustus 
Steward, Esq., is an enemy to the liberties of America, and 
an object of the resentment of the public. Ordered, that 
the same be publicly advertised on the morrow. 
" By order of the Committee, 

^' George Hicks, 

" Chairman." 

Colonel Steward appears not to have receded from the 
position thus rashly and boldly taken ; and from that 
moment, advertised and regarded as an enemy to the 
liberties of America, his career was decided, and took a 
downward turn, ending a few years after in a decline of 
fortune, a broken spirit, the confiscation of his estate,^ and 
a premature close of his life. 

Another case also engaged the attention of the Com- 
mittee, and seemed for the time at least to have been 
happily disposed of. 

" In Committee of Observation. 

" St. David's Parish, August 8th, 1775. 
" Mr. John Mitchell having signed the under- written 
advertisement, it was ordered that the same be immediately 
published in the several Gazettes of this Province. 
" By order of the Committee, 

" Henry William Harrington, 

" Chairman." 

" St. David's Parish, August Sth, 1775. 

" Whereas, I, John Mitchell, of Meldrum, in the said 
parish, merchant, having sent three judgment bonds to 
Thomas Phepoe, Esq., to be by him entered up, and having 
received three executions of the said gentleman in May 
last, one of which has been since personally served by the 
Sheriff' on John and Bartholomew Hodges, and one other 



* His estate was relieved from the penalties of confiscation, as will be seen 
hereafter. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS. 239 

on Enoch James, contrary to the Resolves of the first ses- 
sion of the Provincial Congress,, for which I am truly sorry, 
and humbly ask pardon of the said Congress, and of their 
constituents, sincei«cly promising never to act in the least 
contrary to the Resolves or orders of the Honorable Conti- 
nental Congress, or of our Provincial Congress, being fully 
convinced that every friend to America ought religiously to 
observe the Resolves and Orders of the said Congress and 
Councils. 

" Given under my hand, the day and year above written. 

" John Mitchell/^* 

Notwithstanding this timely warning aud seemingly 
penitent resolve, Mr. Mitchell, though never in arms, took 
sides against his country, in the contest which soon came 
on. His estate was afterwards confiscated. It will be 
remembered, that the notice of his departure from the Pro- 
vince, already given, was in March of this year. 

A new general election for members of the Provincial 
Congress was appointed to take place in the Country Dis- 
tricts and Parishes on the 8th of August, after which the 
Congress adjourned. 

Much of its authority was delegated to the Council of 
Safety and General Committee. 

The most effectual methods were adopted to have the 
Association generally signed throughout the colony, and to 
require from non- subscribers the reasons of their refusal. 
Every effort was also made to put the Province, exposed as 
it was, in such a state of defence as the exigences of the 
times demanded. ' The more effectively to carry out the 
recommendations of the Congress, volunteer companies were 
formed, and the whole Province presented one unbroken 
scene of military preparation. f 

On the 3rd of August, Wm. Henry Harrington received 
a commission^ as Captain of a Volunteer Company in St. 
David^s Parish. 



* Gazette, October 3, 1775. f S. C. Gazette, June 23-30. 

I The commission ran as follows, viz : — 

" South Carolina. 

"In the Council of Safety. 
" In pursuance of the power in us vested by the Provincial Congress, begun 



240 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

In the mean time, the several committees in the interior 
were actively engaged in the discharge of their responsible 
duties. In August, the elections took place for members 
of the second Provincial Congress. 

In September, matters having become so threatening in 
Charles-town as to make it hazardous for the Royal Gover- 
nor, Lord William Campbell, any longer to remain, he took 
flight, precipitately, on 15th Sept., on board the Tamer sloop 
of war, and dissolved, for the last time, the Commons House 
of Assembly of South Carolina. George Gabriel Powell was 
then the member for St. David^s. Col. Powell had taken 
an active and prominent part in the proceedings of the 
Council of Safety, and as one of the Commissioners ap- 
pointed to supervise the military works then in progress 
about Charles-town. Attention had also been directed to 
other points which were likely to be exposed to the assaults 
of the enemy, from whatever quarter. The neighborhood 
of the upper Pedee was not overlooked. 

The stand early taken by the inhabitants in this region, 
seems to have developed a spirit of opposition in places not 
very remote, and to have led to the opinion that they would 
be much exposed to hostile demonstrations from the Tories 
and others on their borders. The feeling already prevailing 
in some of the neighboring communities of North Carolina, 
along the line of Little Pedee, was well known, and led to 
the apj»reliension of the bloody struggle which actually 
ensued during the progress of the Revolution, and deluged the 
valley of the Pedee with blood. Hence it was, that some 
time about the latter part of October of this year, " at the 
request of Col. Powell and others, a detachment of fifty men 
was sent to the Cheraws, to garrison a fort that was to be 
built there, for the protection of the families of the well- 



to be holden on the first day of June last, we do hereby appoint Henry William 
Harrington, Esq., to be Captain of a Volunteer Conip:niy of Foot, in the 
militia of St. David's Parish, Craven County. Dated in the Council of Safety, 
the third day of August, 1775. 

Thomas Heywaed, Jun., Raws. Lowkdes, 

Thos. Feeguson, Ben. Elliott, 

Tno. Bee, Henry Laiteens, 

Chaeles C. Pincknet, M. Beewstee, 

J. A. Hugee, Jas. Paesons, 

Wm. Williamson, Aethub Middleton. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 241 

affected, against the Tories, who were very numerous in that 
part of the country ; this was an expensive work and of very 
little consequence/^* 

The history of this matter, to which Moultrie thus refers, 
will be fully explained by the following extracts from the 
Journal of the Commons House of Assembly. No allusion 
is made to it in any other history of the time. 

" Sfcockado Fort at Cheraw, 23rd September, 1776. 

"' Message from the President by the Clerk of the Legis- 
lative Council : 

" Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen, 

" Col. Powell having represented the necessity of 
a Stockade Fort at the Cheraw Hill, I gave him directions 
some time ago (by advice of the Privy Council) to have one 
built there. But, on receiving from him the petitions and 
estimates herewith laid before you, some of which petitions 
prayed that it might be built at that place, and others at 
Long Bluff; and being informed by several inhabitants of 
St. David's Parish, that a fort at either of those places was 
altogether unnecessary, I thought it proper (the time of 
your meeting being then not very distant) to suspend the 
matter till I could have your opinion respecting it, and I 
now refer this subject to your consideration. 

" John Rutledge. 

"The petitions &c. being read, it was 

" Ordered, that the message, with the papers accom- 
panying the same, be referred to a committee. And they 
are referred to Mr. Harrington, Major Hicks, Mr. Pcgues, 
Capt. Withers, Capt. White, Mr. Young, and Capt. Tra- 
pier.'^t 

" 25tb September, 1776. 

" Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen, 

" I send you some other petitions which have 



* Moultrie's " Memoirs of tbe Revolution," vol. i. p. 92. 
f "House Journal," No. 40, p. 145. 

R 



242 HISTORY OF THE OLD CUERAWS. 

been lately presented to me relative to a fort at the Cheraw 
HiU. 

" John E-utledge. 

'' The petitions were read and referred to the same com- 
mittee.^^ 

On the following day^ Mr. Harrington^ from the com- 
mittee, reported : ^' That they, having examined the petitions 
for and against building a Stockade Fort at the Cheraws, 
are of opinion, that a fort in that secure part of the country 
is entirely useless. 

" And are further of opinion, that the keeping a guard of 
300 men in June and July last, and of 50 men in August 
and the present month, at tlie said place, was a measure not 
only unnecessary and expensive to the State, but detrimental 
and destructive to the crops of many of the poor inhabi- 
tants. They therefore recommend, that the said guard of 
50 men be immediately discharged. 

" And whereas a quantity of gunpowder and lead was, by 
order of Congress, lodged in the hands of the Committee 
for St. David^s Parish, for the use of the militia, part of 
which powder and lead has been drawn out of their hands 
by order of the Commanding Officer : 

" Your Committee therefore recommend, that orders be 
given to the said Commanding Officer, to return the said 
powder and lead to the aforesaid Committee.""^* 

The report was ordered to be taken into consideration 
on the morrow, but postponed to the following day, Sept. 
28th, when it was taken up, and being read, the first clause 
was agreed to by the House. 

A motion was then made and seconded, " That the 
further consideration of the report be postponed, and that 
a message be sent to the President, requesting that his 
Excellency will be pleased to lay before this House, the 
reasons for ordering and keeping a guard of 300 men at the 
Cheraws in June and July last, and of 50 men in August 
and the present month, at the same placc'^t 



* " House Journal," No. 40, pp. 164, 165. f Ibid., pp. 172, 173. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 243 

The message was accordingly sent to his Excellency^ and 
the following reply made, October Tst, viz. : — 

" Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen, 

" On the 17th of May, I was informed by a 
letter from the Committee of Secrecy, War, and Intelli- 
gence in North Carolina, of their having received advices 
that the enemy, who then lay on Cape Fear River, had 
planned a descent at the mouth of Little River, near the 
borders of this colony, in order to attempt a passage into the 
back country of that by the Lake of Waccamaw. Having 
occasion to confer with the Hon. Col. Powell on this sub- 
ject, he urged very strongly the absolute necessity of build- 
ing a Stockade Fort and keeping a garrison at the Cheraw 
Hill, as a security against incursions of the disaffected about 
Cross Creek, and for preventing or suppressing insurrections 
which they might occasion amongst our own people, near 
the North Carolina line — events which might be feared, 
especially if the intended junction between the British 
forces and the malcontents in that Province, had taken 
place. 

" I thought so much attention and respect due to the 
representation of a gentleman in his station, who was well 
acquainted with that part of the country, and had the com- 
mand of a large regiment there, as to lay it before the 
council for their advice, which I did. 

" He attended them, and, on consideiing what he offered 
on this head, they were unanimously of opinion, that it was 
necessary to erect such a fort and keep such a garrison, in 
consequence of which, I gave orders for that purpose. 

" John Rutledge. 

" Sept. 30th, 1776." 

On the next day, it was ordered, " That the Report of the 
Committee to whom the President's Message and other 
papers, relative to the building of a Fort on Cheraw Hill, 
were referred, be recommitted; that the President's Mes- 
sage of yesterday, upon the same subject, and Col. PowcIPs 
Letter^ be referred to the same Committee ; and that Major 
Huger, Major Simmons, Mr. Cantey, and Capt. Roger 
Smith, be added to the said Committee." 

R 2 



24-4 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

On the 4th of October, Mr. Harrington made a report, 
which, having been amended and agreed to^ was as follows, 
viz. : — " That they, having examined the petitions for and 
against building a Stockade Fort on Cheraw Hill, are of 
opinion that a fort in that secure part of the country is 
entirely useless. That they have heard Col. Powell on the 
subject of keeping a garrison at Cheraw, and on full consi- 
deration of the matter, are of opinion, that a garrison in 
that part of the country is unnecessary. 

" And whereas, a quantity of gunpow^der and lead, was, 
by order of Congress, lodged in the hands of the Com- 
mittee of St. David^s, for the use of the militia, part of 
which powder and lead has been drawn out of their hands 
by order of the Commanding Officer, the Committee do 
therefore recommend, that orders be given to the Command- 
ing Officer to return such part of the said powder and lead 
as remains unused, to the aforesaid Committee. ''^'^ 

Whereupon, the following message was sent to the Pre- 
sident, a few days after, October 18th, viz. : — 

" May it please your Excellency, 

" This House, having resolved that a fort and 
guard at the Cheraws are unnecessary, request that your 
Excellency will be pleased to give orders to discontinue the 
building of the said fort, and for the discharge of the guard 
now there ; and that such part of the powder and lead which 
the colonel of the regiment of that district had received 
for the use of said guard as remains unused, be delivered 
to the care and custody of the Committee for St. David^s 
Parish.^^t 

Of the exact locality of the fort, nothing is known ; even 
the knowledge of the fact that such a work was once begun, 
appears to have passed away, no tradition of it having been 
handed down. 

Many volunteer companies of militia were organized about 
this time throughout the Province. 

In St. David's Parish were the following, in September 
and October of this year, as shown by the date of the com- 



* "House Journal," No. 40, pp. 193, 191. f Ibid., p. 221. 



HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 245 

missions^ though these were suhsequently made out. The 
uumber indicates the alacrity with which the inhabitants on 
the Pedee responded to the call to arms. 

" Council of Safety, Feb. 20th, 1776. 
" The following commissions were made out_, signed and 
dated as here entered^ for officers in Col. PowelFs Regi- 
ment of Militia, St. David^s Parish : — 

Captain Abel Kolb, | ^g^j^ g , ^^^^ 

Jhinsign Aaron Daniel, j 
Volunteer fCapt. John Dozier, 

„ •] 1 st Lieut. Henry Britton, Y ,, 

^ ' [2nd „ Joseph Graves, J 

[Capt. Luke Prior, ] 

„ J 1st Lieut. Da^dd Davis, [ 26th Sept., 1775. 

[2nd „ Samuel Smith, J 

(Capt. James Ford, ) 
1st Lieut. Benjamin Harlow, v „ 

2nd „ Charles Moody, j 

[Capt. Luke Whitfield, j 

„ ■] 1st Lieut. Isaac Neavill, [ „ 

[Ensign William Johnson, j 

iCapt. W^illiam Davis, ] 

1st Lieut. Henry Davis, [ „ 

2nd „ Wright W^all, J 

(Capt. George King, \ 

1st Lieut. Amos Windham, V 28th Sept., 1775. 

2nd „ George Spivey, ) 

[Capt. Thomas Hardyman, "j 

„ -1 2nd Lieut. James Galloway, V „ 

[Ensign Joseph Hardyman, J 

,T ■ . TA -n/r T. )Capt.Thos. Lide^s 

j Lieut. Duncan McKae, [ p 

" 1 Ensign John Sutton, f „ i <-» / i«l-e 

^ ^ ^ J 3nd Oct., 17/5. 

i Captain Charles Evans, jun.,1 
1st Lieut. Matthew Holding, h „ 

2nd „ Elisha Magee, j '' 

Additional companies having soon after been formed in 
St. David's Parish^ their officers were nominated and ap- 



246 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

pointed by the Provincial Congress on 16tli of November ; 
and on the 30th their commissions were applied for and 
granted^ as follows^ viz. : 

" Daniel Britton, 1st Lieut., ] Of Capt. Thos. Port's 

Richard Reynolds, 2nd Lieut., I Company of Volunteers 

John Witherspoon, Ensign, ) in St. David's Parish. 

John Kimbrough, Esq., Capt., \ r^i? xi /-i 

„ , _, ® ' J^- Or another Company 

oamuel Benton, 1st Lieut., /. -tr i , • \li 

, T^ • 1 « 1 T • r 01 Volunteers in the 

James Knight, 2nd Lieut., ■ ^ t^ • i 

-„.„. c. 1 T T^ . said Parish. 
WiUiam Standard, Lnsign, 

John Blakeney, Esq., Capt., \ ^„ ,, ^ 

T 1 T> 11 -. T • Oi another Company 

John Reynolds, 1st Lieut., ^ ^r ^ j. • ^^ 

mi ^«- n/r r. 1 T • , r 01 Vomnteers m said 

Ihomas McManess, 2nd Lieut., p ' i, ^^ 

John Ewbank, Ensign, j 

On the 23rd of January following, Thomas Williamson 
was Commissioned Captain in Colonel Powell's Regiment ; 
and on 2nd February, Maurice Murphy was also Commis- 
sioned Captain in the same Regiment.^ 

Thus thoroughly and extensively organized were the in- 
habitants of St. David's Parish at this early period for 
military service. Along the river, and from the extreme 
upper parts of Lynch e's Creek to the neighborhood of its 
mouth, did the spirit of volunteering extend. The people 
were roused to the highest pitch of jjatriotic ardor. 

Some dissatisfaction, however,, had existed among the 
vokmteer companies soon after their organization in Sep- 
tember, owing probably to the fact, that their services were 
not at once accepted, and their officers commissioned. And 
hence, doubtless, the action of the Council of Safety, as it 
has been given. About this time. Captain Samuel Wise, of 
the Regiment of Rangers, was induced, for some reason, to 
resign his commission, as appears from the following 
letter : — 

" To the Honorable, the Council of Safety. 

" Honorable Gentlemen, — I am extremely sorry any in- 



* The lists of Commissions here given, were taken from manuscript papers 
of the Council of Safety, known as the " L:\urens Papers," now in possession of 
the Historical Society of South Carolina, and kindly sliown to the author hy F. 
A. Porcher, Esq., corresponding secretary. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 247 

cident should have arisen that would oblige me to send the 
commission you were pleased to honor me with unto Mr. 
Drayton ; for, having entered into the service with a heart 
full of zeal for the legal freedom of myself and fellow sub- 
jects of this Province in particular, and the constitutional 
rights of America in general ; so, nothing less than being 
dishonored by a suspicion of want of integrity to the great 
cause of constitutional liberty, would have induced me to 
have taken this step ; and I hoije your Honors will be 
pleased to consider the bitterness of my feelings, when Mr. 
Drayton refused to tell me the name of the man who had 
thus disgraced me. But, as my friends here seem to think 
that I have been rather hasty, if your Honors, too, should 
be of that opinion, I shall be exceedingly grieved ; for it 
was never my intention to give the least oflFence, and do 
beg leave to submit myself and cause to your Honors' judg- 
ment. 

'' I am, with great respect, 

" Yoiu' Honors' most obedient, 

" humble Servant, 
" Samuel Wise."'^ 

« Cliarles-town, Sept. 30th, 1775." 

Captain Wise was a man of the nicest sense of honor, 
and doubtless betrayed a morbid sensibility under the wound 
which had been unjustly inflicted on his reputation. He 
was induced to withdraw his resignation, probably by the 
Council of Safety, as well as his immediate friends, and 
continued in the active service of his country, for which he 
Avas eminently fitted. The Provincial Congress was called 
together on the 1st of November. The former members for 
St. David's were re-elected, and with the exception of 
Claudius Pegues, Esq., appeared and took their seats. 

Col. Powell was also elected a member for St. Philip's 
and St. Michael's, but declined that position in favour of St. 
David's Parish. Mr. Harrington was one of a committee 
appointed to report upon the state of the colony, and the 
proper measures which ought to be pursued for putting the 



* Manuscript papers of Council of Safety. 



248 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

same into the best posture of defence. On Monday, Nov. 
6th, it was ordered, ^' That Mr. President be requested to 
direct Lieut. -Col. Thompson, of the Rangers, to send Isaac 
Jordan, a private in his Regiment, charged with horse- 
stealing and breaking gaol at Cheraws, and cause him to be 
delivered to the Slieriff of Cheraws District, or his deputy, 
or to the keeper of the Common Gaol." 

A new Council of Safety having been elected on 16th Nov., 
a committee was appointed the following day, of which 
Mr. Harrington was one, to " consider of, and bring into 
one view, the powers and authorities proper to be vested in 
the Council of Safety.''"^ On the 28th of Nov., it was 
resolved, " That the Committee of St. David^s Parish be 
authorized to purchase what lead they can get, on the 
public account." On the same day it was also resolved, 
" That 600 men from Col. PowelFs Regiment should forth- 
with be detached, and directed to rendezvous at the Conga- 
rees." And the following letter was thereupon written : — 

" By authority of the Congress. 

" Charles-town, Nov. 25th, 1775. 
" Sir, — You are hereby ordered, with all possible de- 
spatch, to detach six hundred men of your Regiment, to 
rendezvous at the Congarees, to act under the orders of 
Col. Richardson. 

" I am. Sir, 

" Your most humble servant, 

" Wm. Henry Drayton, 
" To Col. Powell." '' President. 

This action was taken in consequence of difficulties at 
Ninety-six. There had been a recent skirmish between 
Patrick Cunningham, Jacob Bowman, and others, on the 
one side, and a body of militia under the charge of Andrew 
Williamson, on the other. 

On the 27th of Nov., Col. Richardson was in camp at 
the Congarees, and about 1st Dec. crossed Saluda river into 
the Dutch Fork. A few days after, he was joined by several 



* Drayton's "Memoirs," vol. ii. pp. 61-77; and "Journal of the Congress.' 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEUAWS. 249 

detachments. After advancing southward and eflFecting the 
object of the expedition, the troops were disbanded the 
latter end of December, and returned to their respective 
homes. A detachment had started from Pedee under 
Major George Hicks, but was stopped by the following 
order from the Council of Safety : — 

" Wednesday evening, Dec. 20th, 1775. 

" Gent., — Intelligence which we have just received from 
Col. Richardson, induces us to believe that he will be able 
to accomplish the business upon which he was ordered by 
the Congress, without further aid; and as Col. Powell has 
intimated, that the detachment from his regiment was 
either not marched, or if marched, might soon be overtaken 
by orders : "We desire you will take the proper steps for re- 
calling or stopping the detachment, and directing the officer 
in command to dismiss the men until further orders — after 
which, he will transmit a proper account of the time of 
actual service performed by that detachment. 

" By Order of the Council of Safety, 
" Henry Laurens, 

" President.'^ 

" On Colony Service. — Recommended to the Committee 
of George-town to be forwarded if needful by express. The 
expense will be paid by the Council of Safety. 

" To the Committee of the Parish of St. David.'' 

On the 29th of Nov. it was ordered by the Congress, 
" That three hundred pounds weight of gunpowder be 
delivered out of the public stock, reserved for the aid and 
defence of this colony, to the order of the Committee of 
St. David's Parish, to be distributed among such of the men 
in Col. Powell's Regiment as are unprovided, to be by them 
reserved for public uses only." 

One of the chief difficulties now was to get ammunition 
as it was wanted, such was the limited supply. After a 
Session of the most important and decided character, the 
CoDgress adjourned, November 29th. The die was cast. 
The struggle had begun. The people were everywhere in 



" Laurens Papers" of Historical Society of So. Ca. 



250 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

arms. The selfish, it is said, among the merchants and 
planters, whose gains were lessened by the cessation of 
trade, wished for the return of business ; but the main body 
of both classes most heartily concurred in the popular 
measures. No revolution was ever effected with greater 
unanimity, or with more order and regiilarity. 

A great majority of the people determined to sacrifice 
ease, pleasure, and fortune, and to risk life itself to obtain 
permanent security for American rights. 

They believed their liberties to be in danger. Roused by 
this apprehension, they were animated to the most self- 
denying exertions."^ Such was the feeling on the Pedee. 

With very few exceptions, the intelligent and influential 
inhabitants were the ardent friends of their country. They 
had already taken a conspicuous stand, and to every appeal 
in behalf of liberty had made a hearty response. 

Peculiarly exposed to the worst of enemies, they were 
called, from the first, to bear the heat and burden of a 
sanguinary conflict with the Tories on Lynchers Creek and 
the Little Pedee. But tried to the uttermost, they never de- 
spaired. Among the first to make a public declaration of 
their rights, they were among the last to lay down their 
arms, when further resistance seemed more than futile, and 
for a time overpowered, not conquered, they were forced to 
take protection, but only to throw off every vestige of sub- 
mission, and, with the returning hope of liberty, to submit 
to the oppressor no more. 



* "Ramsay," vol. i. p. 79. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 251 



CHAPTER XII. 

Opening of the year l77t) — Charles-town threatened — Council of Safety writes 
to Major M'Intosh — Response from Pedee — Difficulties in Civil Administra- 
tion — William Strother writes to Council of S;ifety — Tl)e Council provides 
ammunition for Sfc. David's — The Congress meets — Mr. Harrington's return 
as to member in place of Claudius Pegues — Action of Congress — Payments 
ordered to certain persons in St. David's — Congress takes action as to a 
"form of government" — Other proceedings — Pay to Major Hicks refused 
— Additional forces raised — Major M'Intosli elected Lieutenant-Colonel — 
" Form of government " adopted — Officers elected, and appoinlinents for 
St. David's — Colonel Powell and Speaker Parsons' address to the President 
— Colonel Powell elected assistant-judge — Declines — Address of Baptist 
Churches, by Ruv. Messrs. Hart and Winchester to Vice-President Laurens 
— His reply — Courts opened — Presentments of grand jury of Cheraws— 
Whigs and Tories — Latter compared with Loyalists — Conflict with Tories 
on Pedee — Connnittee of St. David's continues to meet — Abel Kolb — His 
cliaracter — David Williams dies — Major Wise on Sullivan's Island — Letters 
to Henry William Harrington — Captain Harrington at Haddrell's Point — 
Prisoners sent to gaol of Cheraws District — Election of two members from 
St. David's to Assembly — Charges against Colonel Powell — His letter on 
subject — Action of Assembly — Affair dropped — Salt provided for St. David's 
— Act passed as to places of election for the parish — First courts after Declara- 
tion of Independence — Chief Justice Drayton's charge in Charles-town — 
Presentments of grand jury of Cherav\s — Reflections on ' same — Quiet 
restored — Commerce revives — Death of Arthur Hart — Letter of Major 
Wise — Member elected for St. David's — Educational wants sorely felt. 

The year 1776 was ushered in inidcr the most threatening 
aspects for the Province. In the eai^y part of January, the 
inhabitants of Charles-town apprehended an attack by sea. 
The Council of Safety acted with the utmost decision. 
Having made arrangements with Colonel Moultrie for pro- 
tecting the town, attention was turned to the subject of 
collecting an adequate militia force from the country. 
Though the enemy soon after withdrew, the apprehension 
of an attack still continued, and the more solicitude was 
felt as the militia came in slowly. The following letter from 
the Council of Safety to Major Alexander M'^Intosh, at this 
alarming juncture, shows the state of feeling in Charles-town. 

" In Council of Safety. 

" Charles-town, Jan. 13th, 1776. 
" Sir, — Three ships of war appear at anchor near our 
Bar, and will probably come within to-morrow. 



252 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 

" One, said by a lieutenant who lias been in a 10 oar'd 
barge as high as Rebellion Road^ and spoke from Fort 
Johnson, the crew of which passed upon him for simple 
fishermen, to be of 50 guns — but, we believe only 36 — the 
other two of 20. They have detached a sloop, probably 
for the Tamar and Cherokee. The lieutenant was greatly 
mortified at finding they w^ere not here. The alarm Avill be 
fired through the colony to-morrow (Monday). Your pre- 
sence, and the presence of every provincial ofllicer, is re- 
quired here. You will therefore repair to your regiment 
with all possible despatch, after giving pressing orders to 
the commanding officer of Col. PowelFs Regiment of 
militia, to detach to our assistance with all possible expedi- 
tion, as many officers and men as will voluntarily come^ in 
small parties of 20 or 50, as they can be collected. 

*' This is the time for evincing our professions and de- 
clarations of love of liberty and the righteous cause of 
America. Words are not necessary to influence those who 
are sincere, to fly to the banner of their country. Order all 
provincial officers you may meet with, to their duty here 
immediately. 

" By Order of the Council of Safety, 

"Henry Laurens, President."^ 

" Major Mcintosh.'' 

To this spirited appeal. Major M'Intosh, with other 
officers, and many of the militia from the Pedee, responded. 
Major George Hicks went down in command of a detach- 
ment, and Captain Samuel Wise also commanded a com- 
pany. On the 6th of February, it was said, three hundred 
volunteers of Richardson's and PowelFs Regiments, Avho had 
been down on duty, being willing to remain, were kept until 
the 1st of March, the rest of the country militia being dis- 
charged. This was the first important military service 
rendered to the Province by the inhabitants of the Upper 
Pedee. 

In the present unsettled state of affairs, serious difficulty 
was experienced in matters of ordinary civil transaction and 



* Manuscript papers of Council of Safety. 



HISTORY OF TPIE OLD CHERAWS. 253 

adjudication. The want of some established authority was 
sorely felt^ as in the management of estates and the case of 
orphans. 

The following letter was addressed to the Committee in 
Charles-town on this subject, from St. David's Parish : — 

" January 11th, 1776. 

" Gentlemen, 

" On the death of sundry persons in the district 
where I live, application has been made to me to know how 
to proceed, or how they should obtain Letters of Adminis- 
tration ; and not knowing what has been resolved by the 
Congress on such occasion, I beg to be informed, as some 
of the orphans must suffer greatly in their estates if not 
shortly secured. 

" Your answer will much oblige, 

" Your humble servt., 

" Wm. Strother.* 
" To the Honorable Council of Safety, 
Charles-town." 

The Parish of St. David's was not yet adequately sup- 
plied with war stores, and the Council took further action, 
as follows : — 

" Wednesday, January 24th, 1776. 

" The Congress at the late session, ordered three hundred 
Aveight of gunpowder to be issued for the use of St. David's. 
The order was brought to us yesterday under many indorse- 
ments ; as we think it will save trouble, expense, and risk, 
we desire you will, upon sight of the order which we have 
referred to you for that piirjose, direct a compliance with 
the contents from the public store of gunpowder under your 
care, and transmit the order to us. 

" By order of the Council of Safety, 

" Henry Laurens, President. 
" The Committee for George-town." 

No time was lost in complying with this direction, as 
appears from the following receipt : — " Received of the 
Committee at George-town three hundred pounds weight of 



* Manuscript piipers of Council of 8afety. 



254 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEI^AWS. 

gunpowder^ from the public stocky by direction of the Council 
of Safety^ for St. David's. 

" Aaron Daniel.^ 

" George-town, Jany. 26th, 1776." 

On the 1st February^ the Congress, which had adjourned 
29th of Nov. previous, met again in Charles-town. 

On the 3rd, Mr. Harrington made this special return, 
addressed to the President : — 

" Charles-town, Feby. 2, 1776. 

''Sir, 

" Claudius Pegues, Esq., one of the six deputies 
duly elected to represent the Parish of St. David's in Con- 
gress, signified by letter, addressed to the Committee of the 
said Parish, that he declined serving the said Parish in Con- 
gress. He delivered the letter to me to lay before the 
Committee, who were not to meet till the 19th of last 
month; and as the Congress was to sit on the 1st instant, 
I, as church warden, and not recollecting the resolve of 
the last Congress relative to elections, advertised the 23rd 
of January as a day of election for a deputy to Congress 
instead of Mr. Pegues, when it appeared that William Henry 
Mills had a majority of votes, of which I acquainted him 
by letter. 

" I am. Sir, your most obedient, humble servant, 

" Henry William Harrington.'' 

" Whereupon, it was resolved. That a Member of Con- 
gress cannot resign his seat during the continuance of the 
Congress in which he took his seat as a member ; and, there- 
fore, as Claudius Pegues, Esq., could not decline his seat in 
the present Congress, the election of William Henry Mills, 
Esq., as a member of Congress in the room of Claudius 
Pegues, Esq., was null and void."t 

On Tuesday the 6th of February, the Council issued orders 
on the Treasury for the payment of the following sums, 
among others, viz. : — 



* Manuscript Papers of Council of Safety. 
■J- " American Archives," vol. v. p. 566. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 255 

£ S. d. 
" To Major George Hicks, for pay and rations 
to the detachment from Col. PowelPs Re- 
giment of Militia, ordered to join Col. 
Richardson, to be placed to account of 
Col. Richardson's expedition .... 8567 12 6 
"To H. W. Harrington, Esq., so much ad- 
vanced by him for two expresses,"^ from 

Charles-town 43 

" To Calvin Spencer's order for his service as 

messenger to the Committee of St. David's 50 
" For ferriage of Capt. Wise's Company over 

Pedee, to John Eddens 10 0" 

On the 8th of February, a Committee was appointed by 
the Congress, consisting of the Council of Safety, together 
with others, of whom Col. Powell was one, " to take into 
consideration the following resolution of the Continental 
Congress, passed the 4th of Nov. last, viz. : ' Resolved, that 
if the Convention of South Carolina shall find it necessary 
to establish a form of governmeut in that colony, it be re- 
commended to said Convention to call a full and free repre- 
sentation of the people ; and that the said representatives, 
if they think it necessary, establish such form of govern- 
ment as, in their judgment, will best promote the happiness 
of the people, and most eft'ectually secure peace and good 
order in the colony during the continuance of the present 
dispute between Great Britain and the colonies.'' "f 

A few days after, a Committee of eleven was appointed 
to prepare and report such a plan or form of government as 
would best promote the happiness of the people. 

On the 12th, a committee, of which .Mr. Harrington was 
one, " was appointed to consider and report upon the best 
method for promoting the manufacture of saltpetre in the 
colony."! 

The want of ammunition began to be sorely felt, and the 



* This was the item, as a credit, in the account of Mr. Harrington, of receipt 
for poor of Boston. 

■\ Drayton's " Memoirs," vol. ii. p. I7l. 
J " American Archives," vol. v. pp. 569, 570. 



256 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEEAWS. 

necessity became more apparent daily for relying upon 
themselves for its production. 

On the 14th of February , a motion was made, " that the 
Congress do order payment of certain expenses, amounting 
to 234/., incurred by a detachment of militia under the 
command of Major Hicks, lately marched to this town, 
for camp utensils and other articles. A debate ensued, and 
the question being put, it was carried in the negative.^^^ 

On the 18th, Col. Powell and Cap. Harrington, with 
others, were placed on a committee to report upon the 
militia, its division, regulations, &c. This important subject 
urgently demanded attention. The haste with which it had 
been necessary to devise certain measures for defence, had 
involved the military affairs of the colony in more or less 
confusion. 

The situation of Charles-town, as was now most apparent, 
demanded immediate aid from the country for its protection. 
And notwithstanding the difficulties attending such a step, 
the Congress voted on the 19th of February, that 1050 men 
of the country militia should be immediately drafted and 
marched down. And three days after, the military estab- 
lishment was augmented by the resolution to raise two Rifle 
Regiments, one of seven, and the other of five hundred men. 
The field officers were to be elected by a majority of the 
ballots of the Avhole number of members present in the 
Congress. Of the first Regiment, Alexander M'Intosh was 
elected Lieut. -Colonel. 

From this time Col. Mcintosh was engaged in constant 
service. 

On the 5th of March the Committee on '' a form of 
Governments^ reported. On the 8th the Congress resolved 
itself into a committee of the whole, to take the same into 
consideration. After several days^ deliberation it was turned 
over to the Congress for final disposal ; and from the 15th 
to the 26th of March, carefully weighed in its details, well 
adjusted in every part, and on the latter day, under the 
title " of a Constitution or Form of Government," adopted. 
A Legislative Council of thirteen, to be elected by ballot 



* " American Archives," vol. v. pp. 569, 570. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 257 

from the members of Assembly, for two years, was substi- 
tuted in the place of the " King's Privy Council/' as for- 
merly, the Vice-President being ex-officio a member and 
President of the same. The legislative authority was vested 
in the General Assembly and Legislative Council ; both of 
which were to be elected every two years. The General 
Assembly was to consist of the like number of members as 
the Congress had done, each district and parish having the 
same representation as was then present. 

This gave to St. David's six members. Justices of the 
Peace were to be nominated by the General Assembly, and 
commissioned by the President and Commander-in-Chief, 
during pleasure. All other judicial officers were to be 
elected by joint ballot of the Assembly and Council. 

All persons chosen and appointed to any office, or place 
of trust, before entering upon the execution of the same, were 
to take the following oath, viz. ; " I, A.B., do swear that I 
will to the utmost of my power, support, maintain, and 
defend the Constitution of South Carolina, as established by 
Congress on the 26th day of March, One Thousand Seven 
Hundred and Seventy-six, until an accommodation of the diffi- 
culties between Great Britain and America shall take place, 
or I shall be released from this oath by the Legislative 
authority of the said colony, so help me God." Such were 
some of the featiu'cs of the " Constitution, or Form of 
Government," thus adopted. An accommodation of the 
difficulties with the Mother Country seemed yet to be looked 
forward to as an event not impossible; aud therefore this 
provision made for regulating the affairs and promoting 
the welfare of the Province was so far only temporary. On 
the day of its adoption, the election of officers took place 
under the Constitution. George Gabriel Powell, one of the 
members for St. David's, was made Speaker of the Legisla- 
tive Council. Henry William Harrington was elected Sherifi' 
for Cheraws District, and the following gentlemen were 
nominated as suitable persons to fill the office of Justices of 
the Peace for the same, viz. : 

John Alran, Henry Wm. Harrington, George Pawley, 
William Dewitt, Arthur Hart, Claudius Pegues, Elias 
DuBosCj John Kimbrough, William Pegues, Charles Evans, 

s 



258 HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 

Thomas Lido, Pliilip Pkid^or, Rol)ort Gray, Wm. Henry 
Mills, and (Icorj^C! Hicks.* 

In tlu; proscMit critical state of i)ublic affairs, this office 
was one of ninch inipoi'tancc, and licin^c m(!n of intcllif^ence, 
inlhicnee, and well-known principle were selected for the 
post. 

On the 3rd of April, Mr. Spciaker Powell and James Par- 
sons, Ksq., 8[)eaker of Assemhiy, niad(! the following 
address U) the l'n;Hi(leiit, John Rntledge, Esq. 

" May it please your Excelleticy : 

" We, the Legislative Council and General 
Asseinl)ly of South ('arolina, convened under the authority 
of the ecpiitahle ('onstitution of Oovernnuint established by 
a fVe(! people, in (Congress, on the 2Gth ult,, beg leave, most 
respectfully, to addres.s your Excellency, Nothing is better 
kn(nvn to your J']xc(;lleney than the utuivoidable necessity 
which iiulueed us, as members of Congress, on the part of 
th(! jjcople, to resume the powers of Government ; and to 
estal)lish some mode for r(;gidating tin; int(;rnal polity of 
this colony ; and, as members of the Legislative Council 
ami General Assembly, to vest you, for a time limited, with 
the executive authority. Such constitutional })roceedings 
on our own part we make no doubt will be misconstrued 
into acts of the greatest criminality by that despotism which, 
lost to all s(;nHe of justice and humanity, has already pre- 
tended that we arc in actual rebellion. But, Sir, when we 
rellect upon the unprovoked, crucd, ami accumulated oppres- 
sions under which Am(;rica in general, and this country in 
particular, has long continued ; oppressions, which gra- 
dually increasing in injustice and violence, are now by an 
in(!X()rable tyranny jjcrpetuated against tlu; United Colonies, 
under the various forms of robbery, conflagration, massacre, 
breach of the public faith, and open war — conscious of our 
natural and inalienable rights, and det(U'miiied to make 
every efl'ort in our power to retain them ; we sec your Ex- 
cellency's elevation, from tin; midst of us, to govern this 
country, as the natural consecpience of such outrages. 



* " Auiericaii Areliivcs," vol. v. p. 620. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 250 

" By the sufTnigos of a free people, you, Su', have heeii 
chosen to hokl the rcius ofCjoveriimeiit ; an event, as honor- 
able to yonrself, as it is bcuefieial to the public. 

" We firmly trust, that you will make the Constitution the 
great rule of your conduct, and, in the most soleuni manner, 
we do assure your Excellency, that, in the diseharj^e of 
your duties under that Constitution, which looks forward to 
an accommodation \\'\i\i tJrcat Britain (an event which, 
though traduced and treated as rebels, we still earnestly 
desii'c), we will support you with our lives and fortunes. ''* 

To this address the President nnide a l)rief and happy 
reply. After putting;- the Cit)verument in operation and 
transacting other important business, the Clenei-al AsscMubly 
adjourned, to meet the first of October foUowiiii;-, ii aving 
the administration of affairs in the mean time to the Presi- 
dent and Council. 

On the 27th of March, the day after the adoption of the 
Constitution, Col. Powell was elected one of tiie Assistant 
Judges, but requested leave to resign, and giving sneh 
reasons as were satisfactory to the House, his request was 
granted. It was the second timc^ this honor had been (!on- 
ferred upon him, the iloyal (lovernment having previously 
elected hira to the same position. 

Col. Powell was highly esteemed, and had been for years 
pi'Ominent in the alfairs of the Provinee. 

That he should have persistently retained his connexion 
with St. David's Parish, though not a residcMit, and declined 
the representation of such Parishes as St. Philip's and St. 
Michael's, is a fact of which \vc. can give no ex[)lanation ; 
unless it was, that having l)e(!onu! inlcrcsled in the Upper 
Pedee by his attendamie at tlie Bar of ('beraw, and the 
purchase of lands, and honored with the conlich'iicc of the 
people from the first, a feeling of gratitmle [)romi)t(Ml him 
to remain in their service to tlu; close of his carcn-r. 

The rising spirit of liberty and the present alarming 
crisis affected all classes. 

Religious bodies were roused to take a decided stand, and 



" Tray ton." vol. ii. p. 201. 

S 2 



260 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

by their encouragiug toues of approval^ to stimulate the 
public men of the clay in their eflorts for the country. 

The following address is expressive of the feeling that 
prevailed : — 

" To the Honorable Henry Laurens, Esquire, 
Vice-President of the Province of South 
Carolina. 
" The address of the Baptist- Congregations in said 
Pro\dnce. 

" May it please your Honor, 

" We can truly say, we rejoice in the 
present happy form of government established among us ; 
and beg leave to assm'e you. Sir, that we are filled with the 
most sensible pleasure on your Honor being chosen Vice- 
President, as it is well known that you are a most hearty 
friend to liberty, and have managed the many important 
trusts committed to you with fidelity. It gives us joy, that 
you. Sir, are still continued in the important service of your 
country at this critical juncture ; and we do most heartily 
congratulate you on this happy occasion. We hope yet to 
see hunted Liberty sit Regent on the Throne, and flourish 
more than ever under the administration of such worthy 
patriots -, may we not hope that the time is come, in which 
our rulers may be men fearing God, and hating covetous- 
ness, a terror to evil-doers, and a praise to them who do 
well ! We bless God that he hath begun our de- 
liverance ; and that he will complete it, shall be our 
constant prayer. 

" And now, wishing yoiu' Honor all peace, happiness, 
and prosperity upon earth, and everlasting happiness above, 
we subscribe ourselves, your Honoris most obedient and 
most humble servants, 

Oliver Hart, Pastor of the Baptist 

Church, in Charles-town. 
Elhanax Winchester, Pastor of the 

Baptist Church, at the Welch Neck, 

on Peclee. 

" Signed in behalf of tlie Baptist Congregations 
in general, this 30th day of March, 1776."'^ 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 261 

To this Mr, Laurens replied as follows : — 

" Gentlemen^ 

" I receive your address on belialf of the 
Baptist Congregations with the same cordiality of affection 
in which, I am persuaded, it was made, although it becomes 
me to acknowledge, that you have done me an honor which 
I had no ground to expect. 

" The persecution against the liberties of American sub- 
jects, which, immediately after the death of his late 
INIajesty, of glorious memory, was devised at the Court of 
St. James, and which, at different periods, has been 
revived, rendered it necessary to make occasional and suit- 
able opposition. 

" Hence the appointment of Committees in every town 
and district from New England to Georgia; hence the 
assembling of that august body, the Representatives of the 
Thirteen United Colonies, in Congress, at Philadelphia, and 
of the Congress and Council of Safety in this colony ; 
hence also those numberless humble Petitions and Ad- 
dresses to the Thi'one, and to both Houses of Parliament, 
which have in every instance been most ungraciously 
spurned, and treated with disdain by the King and his 
Ministers. 

" The high hand with which that persecution hath lately 
been carried on by imprisonments, bloodshed, confiscations, 
plunder, and barbarous devastation of cities and toAvns by 
fire, hath at length impelled the colonists to make a solemn 
appeal to the King of kings, and to resist by force and 
arms. One obvious measure in the plan of oiir enemies 
and cruel persecutors, Avas to drive the peaceable and de- 
fenceless inhabitants of the Colonies into a state of confu- 
sion, by depriving them of the benefit of legislation, and the 
ordinary mode of representation by assemblies. This fact 
is incoutestably proved by those repeated prorogations and 
dissolutions which blot the pages of every journal where the 
King^s ministers could extend and exercise their master's 
prerogative. 

" South Carolina had in an eminent degree suffered by 
this species of revenge, which has been aggravated of late 



262 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAAVS. 

by daily menaces of attacks by British, soldiers and ships of 
war, by instigated insurrections of negroes and inroads by 
savage Indians ; and by what was more to be dreaded, fire 
and sword in our very bowels, by the hands of false brethren; 
in a word^ ' the sword without and terror within, threat- 
ened to destroy both the young man and the virgin, the 
suckling also, with the man of grey hairs/ But, through 
the special protection of Divine Providence, a happy union 
of the principal inhabitants was formed, aud we have 
hitherto miraculously escaped. This metropolis, since the 
late Governor's desertion, has been kept in a state of quiet- 
ness and good order unknown in almost every former 
period. After long suffering and forbearance, the people of 
this country, seeing the noble lord who had been sent to 
be their Governor, although he had abandoned his post, 
still continuing in this and the next neighboring colony, 
exercising and encouraging every hostile and injurious act 
against them, judged it indispensably necessary to resolve 
upon the present form, as a temporary expedient for govern- 
ment, until an accommodation of our disputes with Great 
Britain and a redress of grievances can be obtained. 

" I had the honor of being one among many who framed 
that Constitution. It therefore makes me happy to learn 
that those respectable bodies, the Baptist Congregations, are 
satisfied and pleased with the important event. I esteem, 
as equally friendly and obliging, their particular gratula- 
tions upon my being called by my country to act in the 
honorable station of Vice-President of the Colony, and I 
accept them with thankfulness. 

" Let each man among us, whether in the State or in the 
Church, whether in public or in private life, by example, by 
precej)t, by every becomiug act, persevere, and be ready 
with his life and fortune to defend the just cause in which 
God has been pleased to engage us. 

" We shall, weak as we are, succeed against those who 
have assumed to themselves the powers of Omnipotence, 
who trust in fleets and armies to determine the fight. We 
shall be the happy instruments of establishing liberty, civil 
and religious, in a wilderness, where towns and cities shall 
grow, whose inhabitants to the latest posterity will look 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 263 

back to tliis tappy epoch, and celebrate and bless the me- 
mory of this generation. In order effectually to accom- 
plish these great ends, it is incumbent upon us to begin 
wisely, and to proceed in the fear of God ; and it is espe- 
cially the duty of those who bear rule, to promote and 
encourage piety and virtue, and to discountenance every 
degree of vice and immorality. 

" I have the honor to be, Reverend Sirs, 
" Your faithful, affectionate, 

*' and obliged humble servant, 
"March 30th, 1776. '' HeNRY LauRENS.^ 

" To the Rev. Oliver Hart, M.A., Pastor of the Baptist 
Church in Charles-town, and the Rev. Elhanan Winchester, 
Pastor of the Baptist Church at Pedee, on behalf of the 
Baptist Church Congregations in South Carolina.'^ 

The establishment of the new Government, the first 
organized in any of the colonies, inspired fresh confidence 
and gave increased strength to the union of the people for 
the defence of their liberties. 

Order followed confusion, and a uniform conduct in those 
who governed took the place of the uncertainty and capri- 
ciousness that had prevailed before. The State and District 
officers entered upon the discharge of their respective duties, 
and the courts of law, which had been suspended for nearly 
twelve months, were opened on the 23rd of April (1776), 
" with great solemnity ; to the infinite joy of the well- 
disposed, and the discomfiture of those whose ofiences 
called for punishment. "f 

It Avas on this occasion that Chief Justice Drayton, in 
language similar to that he had held eighteen months 
before, dehvered his first charge to the Grand Jury of 
Charles-town District. 

And again did the Grand Jury of Cheraw District, par- 
taking in the general feeling of enthusiasm which now 
prevailed, give expression to their deep convictions as to 
the just and righteous cause of their oppressed and bleeding 
country. 

* So. Ca. Gazette. f " Draytou," vol. il. p. 253. 



264 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

At a Court for said district^ holden at Long Bluff, on 
Monday, May SOth^ Mr. Justice Matthews presiding, the 
following presentments were made : — 

" I. When a people born and bred in a land of freedom 
and virtue, uncorrupted by those refinements which eflPemi- 
nate and debase the mind, manly and generous in their 
sentiments, bold and hardy in their nature, and actuated by 
every principle of liberality, from too sad experience are 
convinced of the wicked schemes of their treacherous rulers 
to fetter them with the chains of servitude, and rob them of 
every noble and desirable privilege which distinguishes them 
as freemen ; justice, humanity, and the immutable laws of 
God, justify and support them in revoking those sacred 
trusts which are so impiously violated, and placing them in 
such hands as are most likely to execute them in the 
manner and for the important ends for which they were 
first given. 

" II. The good people of this colony, with the rest of 
her sister colonies, confiding in the justice and merited 
protection of the King and Parliament of Great Britain, 
ever signalized themselves by every mark of duty and affec- 
tion towards them ; and esteemed such a bond of union 
and harmony as the greatest happiness. But, when that 
protection was wantonly withdrawn, and every mark of 
cruelty and oppression substituted ; when tyranny, violence, 
and injustice took the place of eqiiity, mildness, and afiec- 
tion ; and bloodshed, murder, robbery, and conflagration, 
and the most deadly persecution stamped the malignity of 
their intentions ; self preservation, and a regard to our own 
welfare and security became a consideration both important 
and necessary. The Parliament and Ministry of Great 
Britain, by their wanton and undeserved persecutions, have 
reduced this colony to a state of separation from them, un- 
sought for and undesired by her : a separation which now 
proves its own utility, as the only lasting means of future 
happiness and safety. What every one once dreaded as the 
greatest misery, they now unexpectedly find their greatest 
advantage. Amidst all her sufferings, and the manifold 
injuries which have been done her, this colony was ever 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 265 

ready, witli her sister colonies^ to ask for that reconciliation 
which showed every mark of forgiveness and promise of 
future harmony. But how were they treated ? Each token 
of submission was aggravated into usurpation ; humble 
petitions styled insults ; and every dutiful desire of accom- 
modation treated with the most imj)lacable contempt. Cast 
off, persecuted, defamed, given up as a prey to every 
violence and injury, a righteous and much-injured people 
have at length appealed to God ; and trusting to His divine 
justice, and their own virtuous perseverance, taken the only 
and last means of securing their own honor, safety, and 
happiness. 

" III. We now feel every joyful and comfortable hope that 
a people could desire in the present Constitution and form 
of Government established in this colony : a Constitution 
founded on the strictest principles of justice and humanity ; 
where the rights and happiness of the whole, the poor and 
the rich, are equally secured ; and to secure and defend 
which, it is the particular interest of every individual, w^® 
regards his own safety and advantage. 

" IV. When we consider the public officers of our present 
form of Government now appointed, as well as the method 
and duration of their appointment, we cannot but declare 
our entire satisfaction and comfort, as well in the character 
of such men, who are justly esteemed for every virtue, as in 
their well-known abilities to execute the important trusts 
which they now hold. 

" V. Under these convictions, and filled with these hopes, 
we cannot but most earnestly recommend it to every man, 
as essential to his own liberty and happiness, as well as that 
of his posterity, to secure and defend with his life and for- 
tune, a form of government so just, so equitable, and promis- 
ing; to inculcate its principles upon his children, and hand 
it down to them unimpaircKl, that the latest posterity may 
enjoy the virtuous fruits of that work, which the integrity 
and fortitude of the present age had, at the expense of their 
blood and treasure, at length happily effected. 

" VI. We cannot but declare how great is the pleasure, 
the harmony and political union which now exist in this 



266 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

district affords ; and having no grievances to complain of, 
only beg leave to recommend that a new ' jury list ' be 
made for this district, the present being insufficient. 

" And lastly, we beg leave to return our most sincere 
thanks to Mr. Justice Matthews for his spirited and patriotic 
charge ; at the same time requesting, that these our Present- 
ments may be printed in the public papers, 

" Philip Pledger, Foreman. 

Abel Edwards. 

John Hewstis. 

Charles M^Call. 

John Wilds. 

Thomas Lide. 

Martin Dewitt. 

John Mikell. 

Benjamin James. 

Magnus Corgill. 

Thomas Bingham. 

Peter Kolb. 

Benjamin Rogers. 

Thomas Ellerbe. 

Moses Speight.'^ 

These spirited Presentments,* not unmeet to be placed 
side by side with those which had been made before by the 
Grand Juries of Cheraw District, were republished in full 
in England the following winter. 

The "harmony and political union^' referred to as existing 
in the district, continued throughout the Revolution to be 
strikingly characteristic of its inhabitants, except in the 
outskirts, and in the case of a few individuals here and 
there on the river. 

No other part of the Province was more united in patriotic 
feeling. 

The distinction of Whig and Tory took its rise during 



* They ajjpeared in the " Remembrancer ; or, Impartial Repository of PubHc 
Events. Part iii. for the year 1776. London, 1777." A copy was first placed 
in the hands of the autlior by Mi\ Hugh Godbold, of Marion, ah-eady referred 
to ; and the volume containing them, with others of the series, a valuable 
collection, was afterwards presented to the author by Mr. G. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 267 

the previous year. Both parties in the interior country 
were then embodied, and were obliged to impress provisions 
for their respective support. The advocates for Congress 
prevailing, they paid for articles consumed in their camps ; 
but as no funds were provided for discharging the expenses 
incurred by the Royalists, all that was consumed by them 
was considered as a robl)ery. This laid the foundation of a 
piratical war between Whigs and Tories, which was pro- 
ductive of great distress, and deluged the country Avith 
blood. In the interval between the Insurrection of 1775 
and the year 1780, the Whigs were occasionally plundered 
by parties who had attempted insurrections in favor of 
Royal Government."^ 

This testimony of a contemporary writer was emphatically 
true of the struggle on the Pedee, but was far from repre- 
senting all that marked the conflict in this region. The 
Whigs of Cheraw District were subjected to frequent pre- 
datory inciirsions by the Tories from the neighboring parts 
of North Carolina towards Drowning Creek and Little 
Pedee. These were Scotch settlements chiefly, and were 
capable of sending out large parties to plunder the patriotic 
inhabitants along the valley of the Pedee. 

There were undoubtedly many worthy persons among the 
loyalists — men who were actuated by noble feelings and 
generous sentiments, and who would have sacrificed them- 
selves and all that they had in the cause of the King. With 
the mass of the Tories it was very different. They acted a 
despicable part, being influenced chiefly by motives of in- 
terest or fear. The bloodiest and most relentless characters 
of the Revolution were found in their ranks. The best 
illustration, indeed, of their character was furnished in the 
desperate means used, by way of retaliation, to which the 
Whigs were not unfrequently driven. 

On the 31st of December, 1775, the Rev. Evan Pugh 
made this entry in his private journal : " Called at Mr. 
Lide's,t who was just come home from the camp, having 
been against the Tories.^^ 



* " Ramsay's Revolution," vol. ii. p. 269. 
j" Robert Lide, afterwards kuown as Major Lide. 



268 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

It was a record of the time which might have been often 
made. 

The Committee of Observation for St. David's Parish 
continued to meet. On the 1th of May^ ]\Ir. Pngh says : — 
" Went to Abel Kolb's'^ to the committee.'' Similar entries 
are fonnd in his journal in June, August, and October fol- 
lowing, and for some time subseqiieut. Mr. Kolb, a man 
of retiring disposition, but of ardent patriotism and fearless 
spirit, was now coming rapidly into notice. He appears 
not to have had the advantages of education possessed by 
some of his contemporaries. This circumstance, together 
with his natural modesty, probablj^ kept him at first from 
taking a prominent part in the public affairs of the time. 
His superior qiialities of head and heart, however, could not 
remain unknown to or unappreciated by the people. With 
the gi'owing exigences of the times, the popular instinct 
turned at once to those who were fitted by nature to be 
military leaders during so stormy a period. Of these, Abel 
Kolb was soon to take a conspicuous place. 

On the 1st of January of this year, Cheraw District lost 
a worthy and useful citizen in the death of David Williams. 
Cut off prematurely in his thirty-sixth year, his country 
could illy afford to be deprived of his services. He had 
been added, Avith others, the year previous, to the Committee 
of Observation for St. David's. His untimely end was much 
lamented. 

With the approach of summer the conflict off the Bar of 
Charles-town drew near. Many of the Whigs from Pedee 
responded to the call from the coast. 

Major Samuel Wise was in command of troops on Sul- 
livan's Island, and engaged Avith all his enthusiastic ardor 
in the preparations made for the approaching struggle. 

On the 7tli of June he wrote to his friend, Henry Wil- 
liam Harrington, Esq., of Pedee, giving some account of 
the state of things up to that date. 

" I am now," he said, " at the lower end of the island 
with 210 men, while fifty vessels are so nigh that we can 
see their men ; and since I began to Avrite, they have got 



Mr. Kolb resided at a point central and important. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 269 

under way, and arc apparently intending to come in. It 
gives mc pleasure to inform you our men are in the highest 
spii'its. Let the event be what it will, our regiment wishes 
to engage. The shipping are wdthin random shot, and 
certainly coming in. It positively gives me fresh spirits." 

On the 22nd of June he wrote again : — 

" I dou^t know, if I am right in my conjecture, but 
I do conceive the longer we are kept in the face of 
an enemy, the less we dread fighting them ; but, as 
our situation here is looked on by every officer in our 
case as desperate, and that we must certainly fall a sacri- 
fice, I expect we shall either fight like a tiger pent up, or 
take the marsh for it. However, our officers chiefly 
declare the first will be their choice, and that they would 
not quit the island were they certain of death. But it is 
my hope that our Great Creator, wdio has appeared so evi- 
dently in the behalf of America, will not desert us, though I 
assure you, it is clear to me we caunot prevent their landing 
without a direct interposition of heaven. My opinion has 
been, and still is, that they Avill land on the lower point of 
this island from Long Island. 

" They have two pieces of cannon mounted, and are this 
day mounting three more, which will cover their landing in 
spite of all we can do. 

" I did not get over, however, before yesterday morning. 
I was appointed officer of oiir advance-guard, and my lieut. 
was kind enough to officiate for me until I landed. 

" Between Long Island and Sullivan's there is at low 
water a circular sand bar or island about 200 yards across. 
On this side the creek is not fordable. On the other side 
I am told it is. Here I went with a canoe yesterday, with 
Lieut. Smith, and walked to the farther side of the sand- 
bar, and was there within shot of the enemy. I took one 
Regiment to be Highlanders and the other to be Cornwallis' 
(common slaves), with some artillery. After I returned, 
Smith, with Wra. Jordan, one of my privates, went over 
again, which brought on a small skirmish, seven or eight of 
their Highlanders running down as fast as possible towards 
them, with a view of getting between them and the canoe. 
Smith fired at them without effect. Jordan likewise fired, 
and his man fell, but whether to dodge, or because wounded, 



270 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

I know not. The enemy fired fourteen guns witliout 
effect^ crying to Smith in Scotch^ ' Stop, you cowardly ras- 
cal ;' on which he, suiting his actions to his words, said, I 
retreat like a Guinea Lion. He deigned not to run, which 
made me uneasy for him. He likewise had a private of 
the artillery with him, without arms, who fell down at every 
shot, and caused much laughter to the enemy, as they 
thought they had killed him. 

" We fired five shots from our two field-pieces, which were 
very well directed, and nearly reached their main body, but 
did no damage. 

" One of the enemy's bullets came very nigh me. I really 
wished to engage them, the more so when I found them to 
be a set of people who have ever been friends to tyrants. 

" The enemy have just now sent an armed schooner oppo- 
site our two field-pieces at the point of the Island (she came 
down the creek from Dewees Inlet), and anchored her 
within point-blank shot of the same. On which, our two 
field-pieces are just ordered to be removed. Their guns 
fight under deck, consequently our rifles cannot touch them, 
and a number of flat-bottomed boats, it is said, are follow- 
ing her, in which we are ordered to the point of the Island. 
I expect their next movement, after landing their men, will 
be along the creek to the bridge. 

" I have sent Bob with this letter and the gun I promised 
you. I am rather afraid of losing him. I could wish him 
to stay with you a day or two, I value not myself, but 
want not to hurt my child ; and from the enemy's prepara- 
tion I expect our fate on Sullivan's Island will be deter- 
mined in two days at most. I surely think Mr. Chesnut 
will come down. I have therefore sent on my papers, for 
should I be unfortunate, you will want them. If you do 
but escape, my dear friend, I shall be well satisfied, for I 
am not doubtful of your care of my child.* 
" I am most sincerely, 

" Your affectionate friend, 

" Saml. Wise." 



* This was an only child, a daughter, afterwards Mrs. Ball, who was sent to 
England to be educated. Upon the death of Major Wise, his executors. General 



HISTOTIY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 271 

Under date again of June 27th, he addressed his friend 
as follows : — 

" Why, my dear Sheriff,"^ were I to give you an account 
of our little skirmishes, I might write daily, for we have 
had it these two days ; but do excuse me if my ability is 
not equal to my inclination, for I describe it the best I can. 

" On Monday morning the enemy brought an armed 
schooner within seven or eight hundred yards of the point 
of the island. The ensuing night we carried an 18-pounder 
and two field-pieces to the point, and attacked her early in 
the morning, and out of eleven shots fired at her, I believe 
three struck her. Finding we could not destroy her, the 
firing was discontinued, and at eleven o^clock, about twenty 
of the enemy, ■ seemingly American renegade Tories, came 
down to the Oyster Bank with clubbed muskets, and took 
shelter behind it, at which time the Indians were on the 
return in a string from the point of Sullivan, and your 
humble servant was Avalking along the open beach to the 
point of Sullivan. At this instant the enemy began to fire, 
and aimed their shot directly at the Indians, who caused us 
to laugh heartily by their running and tumbling, several of 
them whooping and firing their muskets over their shoulders 
backward. I confess, though the bullets poured round me, 
I laughed against my inclination. I walked up to our 
slight breast-work, where I sheltered myself and happened 
to be the oldest oflficer. The enemy really aimed well. 
Their shots went excessively nigh us, and very often struck 
the top of our breast-work, and frequently dropped close 
over it within a few yards of us. 

" I cannot help doing justice to the superiority of their 
musketry, for I could not observe that our shot in the least 
affected them ; and I believe they might have been blazing 
away at us yet, had it not been for our artillery, which was 
loaded by Lieut. Spencer (a brave officer) with grape and 
other shot, and dislodged them, it is supposed, with the loss 
of two or three men; but this is only supposition. Bvit 



Harrington, and Messrs. Boulk and Hayne, found the estate nearly insolvent. 
Mr. Ball was not satisfied, and brought suit against them, but recovered 
nothing. 

* It will be remembered Mr. Harrington was now Sheriff of Cheraw District. 



272 HISTOUY OF THE OLD CHEUAWS. 

they by no means behaved like eowards^ for tliey turned and 
fired in their retreat, and gained the end, I suppose, they 
desired, to haul oft' the schooner while they amused us. 
Last niglit they threw up two entrenchments behind the 
Oyster Bank, and attacked us with howitzers, field-pieces, 
au4 musketry from the same, and one 8-pounder from South 
Island. Being ordered on business to the fort, I was ab- 
sent at the time of the fray ; but was informed by every 
officer the firing was not near so sharp as yesterday. That 
of yesterday continued incessantly from musketry from 25 
to 30 minutes. This morning it was much longer, but very 
few muskets were fired, being at about one hundred yards 
greater distance. Indeed, on our side, only two rifies were 
fired, and the 1 8-pounder about three or four times; after 
which our ai"tillery was hauled ott, and are now placed at 
about a quarter of a mile from the point of Sullivan's Island, 
where the hills begin. We, fortunately, had nobody killed 
or wounded either day ; but had blaidcets, &c., shot through, 
and the stock of a gun broke in a man's hand. We picked 
up many of their bullets, for they fell so nigh us we saw 
their whiz in the sand. 

" I must to you do justice to Capt. F. Boyakin — (nay, 1 
am in conscience bound to do it). He came down to us in 
the very hottest of the fire yesterday. I believe there were 
about sixteen to twenty guns on our side. The enemy are 
now busy improving their entrenchments. 

" I suppose we shall have another brush to-night or to- 
morrow. Several of our people have, with them, mutually 
laid down their arms, and walked to the edge of the creek 
and conversed — a proceeding highly criminal, and now put 
a stop to. The Highlanders in these conversations always 
asked after, and sent their compliments to their country- 
men. They likewise fre([uently give us scurrilous language. 
Their sentries were so nigh us last night, that we could hear 
them hail quite distinctly, and their drums &c. are almost 
as familiar to us as our own. 

" 1 am afraid I shall have some uneasiness about Bob. 
Our field-officers objected to my having so much pay for 
liim, and I did not propose taking any more for him as that 
was the case, after the last return, which was the 2Uth 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 273 

instant. But he certainly was a slave to the regiment, and 
the best drummer in it. lie is consequently now missed 
and inquired after, and I have told them I never intend to 
take any more pay for him, as they grumbled at it. But 
tliey tell me I have no right to withdraw him, and I really 
think their reply is reasonable, as I have received pay for 

him. You know the number belonging to J . I think 

there is really great risk in his being here ; and you, as 
his parent by adoption, and guardian by my choice, will 
do as justice directs you about him, for he is now in your 
hands. 

" I am, my dear Captain, 
'' Your ever sincere and affectionate friend, 

" Saml. Wise. 

" P.S. Remember me to every inquiring friend, particu- 
larly the two Mrs. Pegues. 

" N.B. I might have informed you that a report prevails 
there is a larger fleet off* than that already here, which [ 
believe not ; — that our regiment have never pulled off* their 
clothes by night since we left Haddrell's Point; — that we 
have been constantly up for several nights past from 12 or 
1 o^clock to sunrise, and on guard, fatigue, or alarm all day. 
But we are still Rangers, and must do everything, and yet 
are not worth our rations, though masons, &c., from town, 
&c., say, they are sure we may easily kill five hundred of 
the enemy before they reach the fort. Pretty language this, 
to troops tliey despise ! Remember, we are here three 
hundred and ten privates, and are to kill five hundred by 
task work. Adieu ! My patience bears no more; but place 
me where they will, 1^11 go. I hate to be tasked. We arc 
now in the hands of Omnipotence, and to this must we look 
for redress through our own endeavours, and not to our 
own ability; and may the Sovereign of the universe pro- 
tect and defend you, my dear friend ! I might have told 
you our brave Rangers hauled off the three pieces of artil- 
lery to-day, in spite of their musketry and bombs; but to- 
day they Avere Highlanders that engaged us. I may like- 
wise inform you a large vessel is this instant run aground 
in coming over the bar." 

T 



274 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

This letter''^ was addressed to " H. W. Harrington, Esq., 
HaddrelFs Point, or elsewhere/^ Captain H. had come 
down since the early part of June, in command of a com- 
pany of volunteers from St. David^s Parish, and was now 
at Haddrell's Point ; Major Wise, as it appears, not having 
been informed of his arrival, or exact locality. He did not 
take part, however, in the action of the following day, 
Friday, 28th June — a day rendered ever memorable for the 
signal victory obtained over a proud and powerful foe ! 

This repulse of the enemy led to a state of comparative 
repose for the inhabitants. 

There were many suspicious characters, however, to be 
looked after, and not a few had to be confined. 

The following order was issued soon after, viz. : — 

" The Sheriff of Cheraw District will receive and detain 
in the Gaol of said District, Henry Machie, John Champ- 
neys, and James Carson, whose going at large is dangerous 
to the liberties of America and the safety of the colony. 

" J. RUTLEDGE. 

" Charles-town, August 2nd, 1776." 

A few days after, another order was also despatched with 
reference to the same matter, to this effect : — 

" The State Prisoners sent to Cheraw Gaol are to be 
treated with humanity and kept only under the restraint 
necessary to prevent their escape — their confinement being 
intended only to secure them and prevent their going at 

"J. RuTLEDGE. 

"August 6th, I776."f 

On the 5 th of August, President Rutledge issued a Pro- 
clamation, requiring the Legislative Council and General 
Assembly to meet at Charles-town, on Tuesday, 17th of 
September, for the despatch of divers weighty and impor- 
tant affairs. An election having been ordered, to fill two 



* The letter of Major Wise forms a part of the collection of General Harring- 
ton, in possession of his son, Colonel H. W. Harrington, of Richmond County, 
No. Ca., who kindly gave the author access to the whole. 
f Harrington manuscripts. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 275 

vacaucies for the Parish of St. David's, Heury Wm. Har- 
riugtou and George Hicksj Esqrs., were duly returned, and 
V ith Col. Powell took their seats. Mr. Pegues appeared on 
the 19th. Col. George Pawley and Col. M'Intosh, the other 
members for St. David's, were absent, the latter doubtless 
being engaged in military service. 

On the 30th of Sept., " the Speaker laid before the 
House a letter, which he had received from George 
Gabriell Powell, Esq., and the same being read, was as 
follows : — 

" ' Sir, — I understand there are charges of an extraordi- 
nary nature against me, laid before your honorable House. 
I humbly request, therefore, that I may be heard in my 
defence by a committee, before any resolution is taken 
thereupon, trusting that I shall be able so to acquit myself, 
as to stand fair in the opinion of my country, which is 
above all things desirable, to 

" ' Honorable Sir, 

" ' Your most obt. humble servant, 
" ' Cbarles-town, Sept. 30th, 1776. " ' G- Cj- PoWELL.' 

" Whereupon, it was ordered, that the consideraition of the 
said letter be postponed.'"' 

Of the character of the charges referred to, nothing is 
known. The subsequent records of the House make no 
mention of the matter ; and the probability is, that having 
l)een found to be a groundless slander or the work of some 
malicious enemy, no further notice was taken of the affair. 
There is at least no evidence that Col. Powell sufl'cred at all 
in the public estimation. 

On the 10th of October, it was resolved by the House, 
"that the Committee of St. David's Parish do take into 
their custody the salt now in Mr. John Mitchell's store, at 
Clieraw Hill, paying for the same at the rate of fifty shil- 
lings currency per bushel." " And that they sell and dis- 
tribute the said salt to and amongst such of the inhabitants 
of this State, as have not lately received a dividend of the 
salt in Charles-town, or at Winyaw, who shall apply for the 
same, in the proportion of one half bushel to six white 

T 3 



276 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

persons in a family/' This action indicates the extreme 
scarcity of this article, and to what shifts the distressed 
inhabitants were driven_, alike destitnte to a great extent of 
the means of defence and necessaries of life. 

At this Session of Assembly, an Act was passed, making 
a change as to the places of election for St. David's. The 
preamble was in these words : — " Whereas, the great extent 
of the Parish of St. David's renders it exceedingly incon- 
venient for all the inhabitants thereof to attend the elcctious 
at the parish chnrch, and it would greatly conduce to their 
ease if the election was held one day at the court house in 
the said parish, and the other day at the parish churcli 
thereof," &c. : and thus it was arranged. 

After the adjoiu'nment of the Court for Charles-town 
District in October, Chief Justice Drayton presidiug, the 
Judges commenced their circuits throughout the state. 

The charge of the Chief Justice to the Grand Jury of 
Charles-town was marked by learning and patriotic ardor, 
and published in the Gazettes, producing, as on former 
occasions, a decided effect upon the public mind. The 
Court for Cheraws District was opened on Tuesday, 15th of 
Nov., and the following presentments were made by the 
Grand Jury : — 

" I. When we reflect on the many grievances that the 
good people of North America have long labored under 
from the numerous oppressive and unconstitutional acts of 
the British Parliament, but more particularly some that 
have been passed since the conclusion of the late war ; and 
at the same time consider, that their most humble and 
dutiful petitions and remonstrances against these acts have 
been always answered by a repetition of similar, nay, some- 
times greater injuries and oppressions ; we find them justi- 
fied by the laws of God and Nature, and compelled by the 
dictates of reason and humanity, to dissolve their union 
with that Government, and to renounce all allegiance thereto. 
It is, therefore, with the highest pleasure, that the Grand 
Jury for the District of CheraAvs embraces this first oppor- 
tunity of congratulating our fellow-citizens and American 
brethren on the late declaration of the Constitutional Con- 
gress, constituting the United Colonies of North America 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 277 

free and independent States, and the inhabitants thereof 
totally absolved from any allegiance to the British Crown, 
that being the only means now left of securing to them- 
selves and their posterity the inestimable blessings of 
liberty and happiness, and which we, as freemen, are re- 
solved to support and defend at the hazard of our lives and 
fortunes. 

" II. We present the want of a new jury list in this 
district, and recommend that a law may be passed for that 
purpose. 

" Lastly. We return our thanks to his Honor, the Judge, 
for his most excellent charge delivered the first day of this 
sessions. 

''Claudius Pegues, Foreman. L.S. 

Charles M'Call. L.S. 

Thomas EUerbe. L.S. 

John Wilds. L.S. 

Zachariah Nettles. L.S. 

Thomas Ayer. L.S. 

Martin Kolb. L.S. 

Abel Edwards. L.S. 

Philip Pledger. ' L.S. 

Robert Lide. L.S. 

John Kimbrough. L.S. 

Thomas Lide. • L.S. 

William Pouncey. L.S. 

Moses Speight. L.S. 

John Mikell. L.S. 

Martin Dewitt. L.S. 

Magnus Corgill. L.S. 

Aaron Daniel. L.S. 

Hichard Curtis. L.S. 

Abel Wilds. L.S. 

Thomas James. L.S.'^* 

The occasion, memorable as the first presented to the 
people of Cheraws, since the 4th of July previous, for the 
expression of their sentiments, was hailed with delight, and 
rendered worthy, in the improvement made of it, to be 

* Gazette. 



278 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

placed side by side with others that had gone before. No- 
thing could be added to give weight to what the Grand 
Jury here declared to the world, but the redeeming the 
pledge of " life and fortune." This had already been done 
in part, and was within a few years following to be com- 
pleted by the costliest oblations on the altar of freedom. 

In consequence of the unsettled state of affairs, the Court 
for Cheraws District did not sit again until the fall of 1778, 
and after that no more until the war was over. 

For more than two years to come, the British confining 
their operations chiefly to the northward, South Carolina 
enjoyed a state of profound repose. 

A lucrative trade was carried on by waggons with the 
States south of New Jersey. Commerce flourished and 
f)lenty abounded. With the exception of occasional incur- 
sions by the Tories along the border, there was little to 
mar the pleasures of the calm which thus succeeded the 
opening storm. And even the spirit of the Tories was 
crushed by the brilliant victory of Fort Moultrie, and the 
departure of the enemy. 

Liberty had risen to the ascendant. And until Carolina 
became again the scene of hostile operations, no incident of 
special interest transpired in connexion with the struggle 
on the Pedee. So long as the Whigs could remain at home, 
domestic enemies kept at a distance. 

On the 18th of Feb., 1777, the parish of St. Da^dd lost a 
prominent man and useful citizen, Arthur Hart, Esq. He 
died at his residence on Pedee, having served his country 
faithfully from the commencement of the struggle for inde- 
pendence, leaving a son, James Hart^ to transmit his name 
and spirit to his descendants. 

We hear again from Major Wise, now of the Continental 
line, in the following letter to Capt. Harrington ; — 

" Nelson's Ferry, 1st March, 1777. 

'' My dear Friend, — We are once more ordered to Georgia, 
that State being actually invaded, and a whole companj^ 
of our regiment at Fort M'Intosh* taken prisoners. Samuel 



* Fort M'Intosh is a stockade on the St. Jues. Winn, our captain, behaved 
well. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 279 

Williams was with the party that took our people. To- 
morrow we leave, and I shall have the command of the main 
detachment on the march. Col. Thompson goes ahead with 
a few horse, and Col. Mayson is absent. 

" I have no papers to send you. We are out of the lati- 
tude of news here. 

'' Believe me, my dearest Friend, 

" Your ever well wisher, 
" H. W. Harrington, Esq. " Sam. Wise. 

'' Pedee.^' 

On the 9th of April, writs of election were issued for fill- 
ing up vacancies in the General Assembly. 

One member was returned for St. David's, in the room 
of the Hon. Alexander M'Intosh, who had been elected a 
member of the Legislative Council. 

Thus the year 1777 passed on and drew to a close. 
Attention began to be turned to other matters, now that 
comparative quiet was restored, and the public mind to some 
extent relieved from the long-continued agitation to which it 
had been subjected. 

The education of the young, in consequence of the troubles 
of the past, had been sadly neglected. The evil was sorely 
felt, and a general determination manifested to provide 
against its continuance. 

Of the efforts made in this direction, in St. David's, some 
account will be given in the next chapter. 



280 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

St. David's Society — Its organization — First members — Others added — Original 
subscription paper — Incorporation of the society — Its subsequent history — 
Origin of " Society Hill " — Cliaracter of the community — Military organi- 
zation on Pedee — Military Acts — Alexander M'Intosh a brigadier general — 
Letters of Major Wise — Oath of allegiance — Account of it — Original record — 
Letter of Major Wise — Presentments of grand jury of Cheraws — Represen- 
tatives elected for St. David's — Letter of Henry William Harrington — Of 
]\lajor Wise — Death of Colonel Powell — Account of him — State of public 
affairs — Colonel M'lutosh in service — Correspondence with General Moultrie 
— Movemeuts of the army — M'Intosh's reply to the enemy — General alarm 
through the State — Armies in motion — Siege of Charles-town — Colonel 
M'Intosh a commissioner to treat with the enemy — Siege raised — Public 
rejoicings — Extracts from Pugh's journal — Attack on Savannah- -Major 
Wise killed — His character — Loss of others from Pedee — Captain Harring- 
ton removes to No. Ca. — His promotions — Judge Pendleton elected repre- 
sentative in place of Major Wise — Extracts from Journal of Assembly on 
subject — Tories in gaol — Maurice Murphy a colonel — Gloomy prospects for 
the State. 

About this time appears the first mention of a society 
which Avas destined to exert an important influence on the 
welfare of the communities bordering on the Upper Pedee. 

But little attention had hitherto been given to the sub- 
ject of education. With a country recently settled^ and 
most of the inhabitants poor, it was to be expected that 
matters of material interest would first engage the thoughts 
of the people. For some years past, too_, the public distur- 
bances, so deeply afiecting the peace and prosperity of the 
infant settlements, had seriously retarded their progress. 

Being now, however, in a state of comparative repose, and 
with brighter prospects for the future, the welfare of the 
rising generation was no longer overlooked. 

On the 13tli of December, 1777, this entry appears in 
the Kev. Mr. Pugh's Journal : — " Assembled at the Meeting 
House, in Society, to promote learning ;" and on the 20tli, 
" went to Dr. Mills', about the Society's rules." On the 31st, 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



281 



also, " went to the Neck,* to the Society, signed the rules, 
chose officers, &c/^ 

The Hon. Alexander M'Intosh was elected president, and 
George Hicks and Abel Kolb, wardens. 

The society took the name of " St. David's,'^ and by that 
lionored appellation continued afterwards to be distinguished. 

The names of those who jjarticipated in the organization 
were as follows, viz. ; — 



Gen. Alexander M'Intosh 
Col. Thomas Lide 
Wm. Henry Mills 
Abel Wilds 
Major Robert Lide 
Capt. Daniel Sparks 
Rev. Elhanan Winchester 
Capt. William Dewitt 
Rev. Evan Pugh 



Col. George Hicks 
Capt. Thomas Ellerbe 
William Terrel 
Thomas Evans, sen. 
Joshua Edwards 
Col. Abel Kolb 
Nathanael Saunders 
Thomas James 
William Pegues, Esq. 



Benjamin Rogers 

On the 31st of January, 1778, were added to the list of 
members, — 



Capt. Philip Pledger 
Abel Edwards 
Thomas Powe 
AVilliam Ellerbe 
Charles Mason 
Jeremiah Brown 
Joshua Terrel 
Benjamin Williamson 
Capt. Edward Jones 
John Wilds 
James Hicks 
John Thompson 
William Blassingame 
Capt. Charles Gee 
John Hodsre 



Richard Hodge 

Col. George Pawley 

John O^Neall 

William Thomas, Esq. 

Edward Irby 

Major John Kimbrough 

Peter AUston, Esq. 

Captain Simon Connell 

Cap. George King 

Philip Singleton 

Capt. Benjamin Hicks 

Charles Irby 

Capt. Claudius Pegues, Jr, 

Edward Blake. 



The organization of the society excited much interest 
among the inhabitants of St. David^s Parish. 

An original subscription paper of the date just mentioned, 



* The Welch Neck. 



282 HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 

with a preamble^ lias siirvivcd tlie ravages of time, and is 
in these words, viz. : — 

" As the endowing and establishing public schools and 
other seminaries of learning has ever been attended with the 
most salutary cfleets, as well by cultivating in youth the 
principles of religion and every social virtue, as by enabling 
them afterwards to fill with dignity and usefnlness the most 
important d(;partinents of the State ; who that is a lover 
of his country, as he looks around him, can fail to deplore 
the great want of this necessary qualification in our youth, 
especially in the interior parts of it, at this early })cri()d of 
our flourishing and rising state. In the future, when we 
shall be at liberty to make our own laws without the con- 
trol of an arbitrary despot, what heart would not glow with 
pleasure to sec a senate filled with learned, wise, and able 
men, for the want of whom the most flourishing republics 
have become the tools of arbitrary despots. vVnd whereas, 
there is a society established in the Parish of St. David, 
by the name of the St. David's Society, purposely for 
founding a public school in the said parish for edueating 
youths in the Latin and Greek languages, mathematics, and 
other useful branches of learning, by those who are not of 
ability, without assistance, to carry so useful and necessary 
an effort into effect : 

" Wherefore, in order to contribute to so laudable and 
benevolent an undertaking, we, whose names are hereunto 
subscribed, do promise to pay, or cause to be paid into 
the hamls of the Secretary of the said Society, the respec- 
tive svuns subjoined to each of our names, whenever the 
same is called for by the said Secretary or his order. 

" Witness our hands, the 31st day of January, 1778. 





£ 


s. 




£ 


*. 


William Lide 


100 





Charles Irby . 


50 





John Wilson . 


50 





Joseph Johnson . 


50 





Phihnnon Thomas 


25 





John Manderson 


50 





Duke (lien 


25 





John Ogle 


500 





John Jenkins 


25 





Joseph Pledger . 


50 





William Jones . 


25 





John Pledger 


50 





John Speed . 


25 





Benjamin James 


20 





Nathan Savage . 


100 





Isaiah Frisbc 


50 






HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEUA.WS. 



283 



Joseph Dabbs 


50 


s. 



Jethro Moore 


25 





Charles Evans . 


50 





Joseph Gourlcy . 


25 





Nathanael Sanders 


TOO 





Tristram Thomas 


55 





Charles Sparks . 


100 





John Thompson . 


50 





Edmnnd Irby 


50 





John Lueas . 


25 





Samuel Dc Saureney 13 


10 


Andrew Dick 


15 






M 


s. 


25 





50 





50 





25 





5 





20 





25 





50 





60 





100 





50 





10 


Q»^ 



Moses Fort . . 
John Mikell . . 
William Forniss . 
David lloaeh 
William Vann 
Enoch Kvans, Jnn. 
Etheldrcd Clary . 
Aaron Daniel 
Samuel Winds . 
Baily Clark . . 
Thomas Deane . 
Thomas Ayer 

In the sentiments expressed, and the laudable interest 
taken in so timely and noble an undertaking, this paper 
docs honor to the early days of the Pedee. The most of 
the subseribcrsf lived in other parts of the parish, at some 
distance from Long Bluff. 

On the 7th of May, a few names were added to the list 
of members, viz., James Blassingamc, Adam Cusack, John 
M^Call, Hugh Jones, and Rev. John Cowen. 

At a meeting of the society, July 27th, were added the 
names of David Roach, Alex. Craig, Jethro Moore, Robert 
Gibson, and Henry Clark ; and on 14th September, Rev. 
John Brown. 

In December of this year (1778), St. David^s Society was 
incorporated. The Preamble to the Act was in these 
words : — '^ Whereas, sundry inhabitants of tlie Cheraw Dis- 
trict have formed themselves into a society by the name of 
the ' Saint David's Society,' for the express purpose of insti- 
tuting and endowing a seminary of learning in tlic District 
of Cheraw, to instruct and educate youth in the necessary 
and useful branches of knowledge, and have made humble 
application to the General Assembly of this State to be in- 
corporated, and invested with such powers and privileges as 
may most effectually advance the views of the said Society : 



£100, 



* £100, depreciated in May, 1778, was equivalent to £30 8*. 9|rf. 
old currency in sterling, to £14 5.v. ^\d. 

\ Some of the niuncs on the subscription list iii)])car here for tlie first and 
liist in the records of the time, as in the case of Dr. John Ogle, the largest 
subscriber. 



284 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Therefore,, be it enacted, That the Honorable Alexander 
Mcintosh, Esq., President of the said Society, and George 
Hicks and Abel Kolb, Esqrs., the present Wardens, and the 
several persons who now are, or who shall hereafter be, 
members of the said Society, shall be a body incorporate."^ 

Subsequent to this time, no further progress appears to 
have been made, until the troubles of the Revolution were 
over, when the society was reorganized, and went into 
vigorous operation. 

The first school- house was erected a few yards from the 
spot where the building known to the present generation 
was used as an academy until within a few years since. It 
was near the brow of the first commanding eminence above 
the river, about three quarters of a mile distant. 

Of the first teachers nothing is known. For moi'e tlian 
a half century after, the academy of St. David^s was of dis- 
tinguished note in the eastern section of the State. Many 
were prepared within its walls for a more thorough course 
of study abroad ; and others, not less eminent in after years, 
looked back to it as their only Alma Mater. 

About this time, settlements began to be made still fur- 
ther out from the river, along the line of the present vil- 
lage, and from the society then established, the infant com- 
munity took the name of " Society Hill."" 

Formed of planters in easy circumstances, though for the 
most part yet of small estates, but who continued to grow 
in wealth and refinement, this community became noted for 
the intelligence and virtue of its members, and in all the 
essential elements of character and progress changed less 
than almost any other to be found. It presented no attrac- 
tions to men of enterprise from abroad, and opened but 
little field for the spirit of adventure or speculation to those 
in its midst, and continued, as a consequence, to be marked 
by those quiet and conservative traits which an agricultural 
people, with a sound religious sentiment pervading them, 
might be expected to display. Since the early part of 
1775, the military organization on the Pedee had undergone 
important changes. At that time, as will be remembered. 
Col. G. G. Powell was in command of the Cheraw Regi- 
ment, one of the thirteen into Avhich the militia of the State 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 285" 

was then divided, with Charles Augustus Steward, Lieut. - 
Colonel, and Abraham Buekholts, Major. In the latter 
part of 1777, Geo. Hicks was Colonel, Abel Kolb, Lieut. - 
Col., and Lemuel Benton, Major. Col. Hicks probably 
sticceeded Col. Powell. 

The Militia Act of March, 1778, which repealed all 
former Acts, as well as the '' Resolves of the late Provincial 
Congress,^' provided for a division of the militia into three 
brigades, for each of which a brigadier-general and major of 
brigade were to be appointed. Prior to that time, as already 
mentioned, the only organization was that of companies, 
battalions or troops, and regiments. 

Under the Act of 1778, no volunteer company was to be 
formed, and those previously existing were to be disbanded 
whenever there should cease to be fifty effective men on 
their muster rolls. No regiment was to be divided unless 
containing more than twelve hundred men. Lieut.-Colonel 
Alexander M'^Intosh was appointed to the command of the 
brigade, embracing the eastern portion of the State. 

This position he maintained till his death, as appears 
from the private records and public journals of the day. 

Major Wise continued to write to his friend, Capt. Har- 
rington, giving some account of matters as they transpired 
in other parts of the State, and in Georgia : — 

" My dear Friend, " Charles-town, January 22, 1778. 

" You herewith receive the last paper printed, 
or likely to be for some time, on account of the fire which 
happened here on the morning of the 15th inst., which 
burned down all along the Bay, from Queen^s Street to 
Stol's Alley and back in a parallel line to Church Street, 
except a few scattering houses. The Tories have been by 
some few accused of it, but the real cause was, I believe, 
accidental in Union Street, and an excessively high Avind. 
Indigo is very dull sale, at 606^,, and rice at 70s. — the 
embargo still continuing. We have a report of a French 
war, but nothing certain. 

"The Assembly have granted a million to purchase pro- 
duce to ship for dry goods, to be sold to the public at 25 
per cent, profit ; and chose the following delegates, viz.. 



286 HISTORY or the old cheraws. 

Christoplier Gadsden^ A. Middleton, Wm. H. Drayton, H. 
Laureus, and J. jNIattlicws, The last wanted a few votes, 
but I am sure will be chosen to-morrow. 

" Three companies of our regiment and myself are ordered 
to town to do duty, with Col, Pinckney. Therefore I shall 
be stationed here, probably for some time. I have sent for 
the Georgia Constitution for you, and hope to get it. 

" 24th. Since writing the above, a report prevails that an 
engagement happened on Christmas-day between Generals 
Washington and Howe — the particulars unknown. Some 
say Washington was defeated. 

" I am, dear Sir, 

" Your ever afft. friend, 

" S. Wise. 

" Henry Wm. Harrington, Esq., Pedee.^^ 

" My dear Sir " Charles-town, 12 April, 1778. 

" The General having ordered me with 200 men 
to Georgia (notwithstanding he had given me leave to come 
up), prevents my attending Court, and I fear will be of bad 
consequence to you in your trial with James. I will be 
greatly obliged to you if you will deliver the enclosed to 
Col. Hicks. The Tories here are of opinion they will 
govern before the summer is over. 

" Indeed, Col. Powell told me yesterday he would not go 
off, for we should have enough on our hands without 
troubling them. 

" Gen. Howe writes from Georgia, that the enemy are 
collecting at St. Augustiue from West Florida and every 
other quarter, to attack Georgia ; and that this affair of the 
Tories from the back country marching, is a plan settled 
some time ago. I know it will by the ignorant be attri- 
buted to the oath. I don^t expect to see you before July, 
even should we not be attacked. 

" I promised myself much satisfaction from this intended 
jaunt to Pedee, for my wife and son-in-law were coming 
with me. 

" However, you know a soldier ought to be patient under 
disappointments. 

" I understand Hodge brought in several letters and gave 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 287 

them to Wiley, but none of them have reached me. Were 
it not that I knew of this circumstance, I might suspect my 
friends on Pedee had forgotten the man who is resolved 
never to forget them, or the place where the partner of his 
heart is deposited. 

" We have great hopes of peace from the accounts re- 
ceived from the Southward. God speed it, I say. 
" I am, with the most sincere regard, 

" Dear Sir, ever your affect, friend, 

" S. Wise. 
" Henry Wm. Harrington, Esq., Pedee.^^ 

The oath referred to in this letter in connexion with the 
Tories, was that enacted by the Assembly in March of this 
year, as an oath or affirmation of allegiance, to be taken by 
every adult male, in the following words, viz. : '' I, A. B., 
do swear or affirm that I will bear true faith or allegiance 
to the State of South Carolina, and will faithfully support, 
maintain, and defend the same, against George the Third, 
King of Great Britain, his successors, abettors, and all 
other enemies and opposers whatsoever; and will, without 
delay, discover to the Executive Authority, or some one 
Justice of the Peace in this State, all jjlots and conspiracies 
that shall come to my knowledge, against the said State, or 
any other of the United States of America. So help me 
God.^^ 

Those who refused this oath were obliged to depart the 
country, being permitted to leave their families if they 
desired it, and also to sell or carry off their estates. 

It is not surprising that the disaffected were excited by 
it to the bitterest resolves. 

An original certificate* in the printed form, which appears 
to have been distributed throughout the State, is in these 
words, viz. : " I do hereby certify, that Thomas Quick hath 
taken and subscribed the Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity, 
as directed by an Act of the General Assembly of the 
State of South Carolina, entitled, " An Act to oblige every 
free male inhabitant of this State, above a certain age, to 



* 111 the author's possession. It was found among the papers of Thomas 
Quick. 



288 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

give assurance of Fidelity and Allegiance to the same, and 
for other purposes therein mentioned, 

'' James Hicks, Capt. 

" May, the 29th day, 1778." 

Again Major Wise writes : — 

« Charles-town, 18th April, 1778. - 

"My dear Friend, 

'' I wrote you by Mr. Strother of my 
being ordered to Georgia, for which place I set off to- 
morrow, with 150 rank and file of ours — 58 of the 1st and 
50 of the 6th, under command of Col. C. C. Pinckney — a 
circumstance I like much. The Tories are said to be 
assembled there to the number of 500 — nay, some accounts 
say, 1700. 

" Remember me to all your family, and believe me, 

" Your ever sincere Friend, 

'' S. Wise. 
" Henry Wm. Harrington, Esq., Pedee.^' 

The Court for Cheraw District opened on the 16th of 
November. The Grand Jury made the following present- 
ments : — 

" I. We present, as a great grievance, the number of 
Representatives in the General Assembly, humbly appre- 
hending that thereby the State is put to an unnecessary 
expense, and that if the representation was smaller it would 
be thereby more respectable, and the public business be 
done with facility. 

" II. We present, as a grievance, the want of a public 
post throughout this State. 

"III. We present, as a grievance, f.io want of a bridge 
over Black Creek, and over Thompson's Creek, near Roger's 
Ferry, and over Crooked Creek. 

" Lastly. We recommend that these presentments may 
be published in the Gazettes. 

"William Henry Mills, jPorew an. L.S. 
George Hicks. L.S. 

John Hodge. L.S. 

Peter Roach. L S. 



-' 1 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 289 

Thomas Ellerbe. L.S. 

William Dewitt. L.S. 

Claudius Pegues^ sen. L.S. 

Benjamin Hicks. L.S. 

Thomas Hicks. L.S. 

Thomas Ayer. L.S. 

John Pigot. L.S. 

Joseph Pledger. L.S. 

William Blassingame. L.S. 

Claudius Pegues, jun. L.S. 

Henry Council. L.S. 

Joshua Edwards. L.S. 

" Ordered that the said presentments be printed and pub- 
lished. 

" By the Court, 

" Thomas Powe, C.C.T.'' 

By the Constitution, adopted in March previous, the 
representation had been reapportioned, and provision made 
for the election of senators. The parishes retained, in most 
instances, the number of rej)resentatives they had before. 
No change was made in the case of St. David^'s, which was 
now entitled to one senator and six representatives. The 
grand jury called in question the wisdom or expediency of 
this feature of the new Constitution, and were bold enough 
to recommend a change. Elections were ordered for the 
last Monday in November ; and for St. David^s, Hon. 
Alexander M'Intosh was returned as senator ; for repre- 
sentatives, William Standard, Charles Evans, Wm. Henry 
Mills, William Pegues, and Abel Kolb, Esquires ; leaving a 
vacancy, which was subsequently filled by the election of 
Major Wise, 

The Legislature was to meet on the first Monday in 
January ensuing, in Charles-town. 

The following letter will convey some idea of the trying 
wants of this period, as experienced by the people of the in- 
terior : — 

" Colonel Joseph Kershaw. 
Dear Sir, — Our friend, Claudius Pegues, Esq., is so greatly 
distressed by an unfortunate accident that happened to his 



290 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

eldest son last Tuesday, that he cannot write on the subject ; 
but well knowing your friendship for him, has desired me to 
beg the favor of you, Sir, to give Mr. John Wright, the 
bearer of this, all possible assistance in obtaining amputating 
instruments at or near Camden. Tlie young man received 
a load of Bristol shot, from his own gun, in his right arm, 
just above the wrist, by which both bones are much shat- 
tered ; and notwithstanding the immediate assistance of two 
doctors, we, from certain appearances, are apprehensive of 
mortification ; and our doctors having no instruments, in 
order to be prepared for the worst, we now make this appli- 
cation to our fi'iend to assist us in obtaining an amputating 
saw for the arm, and a needle. Your brother. Sir, has been 
so good as to write on our behalf in a pressing manner to Mr. 
Duncan McRae ; but our fears suggest to us, as there is a 
possibility of that gentleman^s being from home, that that 
may now be the case ; and as a disappointment of this nature 
may greatly endanger the life of my young friend, permit 
me, Sir, to entreat you to interest yourself in this matter; 
and then, if instruments are to be had, I doubt not but we 
shall be so far happy as to obtain them. 
'' I am, with high regard, 

" Your most humble and 

" Most obedient Servant, 

" Henry Wm. Harrington. 
" Deer. 13, l7V8." 

Soon after this. Major Wise writes from Purysburg. The 
conflict was waxing warm in that quarter. 

" Head- quarters, Purysburg, 18tli January, 1779. 

"Dear Harrington, — I write you merely because, when an 
opportunity offers, I. wish it not to escape me. We gather 
here pretty fast ; but you know what militia are, no sooner 
come, than for going again. We may have here now nearly 
or quite 3000, and expect 1500 more in two or three days 
from your State.* Our back country militia has not yet 
joined us. Howe is gone, regretted by none. Our present 



* Captain Harrington had removed to North Carolina. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 291 

general (Lincoln) seems to command for himself, and I hope 
will do better. 

" The living was never so well found. He lets us want 
for nothing that is necessary to be had. Nor are we turned 
out and harassed for every trifle. The army is as little 
fatigued as possible. The enemy have their full swing in 
Georgia, and are in possession of all the ferries, which, I 
apprehend, will make it very difficult re-entering Georgia. 
The Georgians have joined them in shoals, and have taken 
arms against us. Yet I am satisfied it is more through ne- 
cessity than choice, for we really abandoned them and their 
property to the enemy. And should we now leave this 
place (such is our present situation), and march up the 
country to cross the river high up, the enemy might, in the 
interim, enter Carolina here, and take the two remaining 
galleys, which have been warped up here just above the tide- 
way. We lost in Sunbury Fort, which is taken, upwards of 100 
more prisoners, with the cannon and everything there. I 
never before could imagine it possible that such showers of 
bullets could have been fired without doing more execution. 
The enemy fired on us thirty-eight minutes in flank, front, 
and rear ; and so nigh as to abuse us with their tongues ; 
and we scarcely ever returned the fire, and had to retreat 
over a causeway across an impassable swamp a full quarter. 

Of our regiment, we had but one sergeant killed, and 
four privates wounded, and sixty-four made prisoners. 
'' I am, my dear friend, 

" Yours most sincerely, 

" Samuel Wise. 

" Remember me to your family. 

" The enemy and we are frequently corresponding by way 
of flags, and they seem in this respect more ready than is 
judged expedient. It is suspected they send, through this 
means, to gain intelligence. 

However, they are polite, and it is said, use our prisoners 
well.^' 

The parish of St. David was now to mourn the loss of 
one who had been long and prominently connected with its 
history. 

u 2 



292 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

No man of the time had oceupied a more conspicuous 
or honorable phice in all connected with the public interests 
of the Pedce than George Gabriel Powell. On the 21st of 
January his useful life was brought to a close in Christ 
Church Parish. Having early won the confidence and affec- 
tion of the people on the Pedce, he retained his place in 
their esteem with singular uniformity through years of 
eventful changes, relinquishing at times, in their behalf, 
positions of more commanding influence, returning to their 
service as his first love, and devoting to it his maturest 
labours to the end of his career. 

His memory should never cease to be cherished with 
admiring gratitude by the descendants of those whom he so 
faithfully served. 

The Legislature was now in session in Charles-town, and 
in February elected William Strothcr Sheriff of Cheraws 
district. 

Attention, however, was now to be turned from civil 
affairs to the rcapproaching struggle for liberty and life, 
and the comparative calm which had been enjoyed for two 
years past was to be no more known until the close of the 
war. 

After the failure of the British Commissioners to effect 
a reunion of the Colonies with the Mother Country, the 
struggle was recommenced on a new system. The order of 
procedure was changed, ar)d the South became henceforth 
the principal theatre of offensive operations. 

The close of 1778 saw more active and vigorous prepara- 
tions than before for a decisive blow upon the South. In 
December of that year Savannah was taken, and South 
Carolina became a frontier state, calling for redoublcl efforts 
on the part of her people. The public spirit* was roused to 
the highest pitcli, and everywhere military movements were 
being made. The churches were deserted, and the inhabi- 
tants generally in a state of commotion and alarm. Lieut. - 
Col. M'lntosh was now actively engaged in the service of 
the State. After the evacuation of Augusta ])y the enemy, 
he was detached, in command of a company of regulars, 
with a party of militia under Col. Howard, in all about 200, 
to follow the enemy and harass them in the rear. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 293 

Col. M'Intosli appears to have possessed^ in an eminent 
degree, the confidence and affection of Genl. Moultrie. 
About this time the following correspondence took place 
between them. 

" (Sent by express). 

« Black Swamp, Apl. 29, 1779. 
" Dear Sir, 

" You must endeavor to join us, if you can 
Avithout any great risk. I wish you could have given me 
an account of the enemy^s number. I could better judge 
how to act ; the light horseman informs me you imagine 
them upwards of three hundred men. I think you were 
right to retreat in time, as your force would not be equal 
to theirs by any means. I expect soon to have accounts 
from you and more particulars ; as you have no baggage, 
you may cross the country to this. 
'' I am, &c., 

"William Moultrie. ^^* 

To this letter, Col. M'Intosh replied'as follows : — 

" Coosabatchie, Apl, 30th, 1779. 

" Dear General : 

" Last night two deserters from the 
enemy came to Bee's Creek ; they were of the light infantry. 
They say Col. Maitland commanded yesterday, that he had 
the light infantry, and the 2nd battalion of the 71st regi- 
ment, amounting to eight or nine hundred men ; that they 
were to send for three field-pieces and three six-pounders, 
with a reinforcement to make them up 1500 men; that 
they did not know the Colonel's plan, but that they heard 
it said that he intended to proceed to Charles-town, and 
that he had thirty or forty Indians with him. I have given 
Genl.Bidl and Col. Skirving information of these particulars ; 
the men are so lame that I cannot be up before to-morrow 
night. We are all safe. 

" I am, &c., 

" Alexander M'lNxosH.f 

" Brig.-Genl. Moultrie." 



* Moultrie's " Memoirs," p. 389. f Ibid., p. 401. 



294 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

On his retreat from Black Swamp immediately after, 
having learned that the enemy had crossed the river at the 
Two Sisters in great force, General Moultrie marched with 
all possible expedition to Coosahatchie, giving notice to 
Colonel M'lntosh^ who was posted at Purysburg^ to march 
immediately, so as to join him, which he did that night. 

Colonel Mcintosh gained no little note upon the open- 
ing of the campaign in Georgia, by a reply to the enemy, 
which became a well-known saying in the army. It 
was in February, 1777, when a body of British troops, arriv- 
ing at Sunbury, a party of them were detached to demand 
the surrender of the fort, of which M'Intosh was in com- 
mand. His answer was, " Come and take it •/' which they 
deemed it expedient not to attempt to do. 

The militia were now marching to Charles-town from dif- 
ferent parts of the back country. 

Captain James Gregg, among others, went down on this 
occasion, in command of a company from " Old Liberty,^^ 
just below the line of St. David's, on the west side of the 
river. 

General Prevost was now in pursuit of General Moultrie 
with an army of 4000 men, General Lincoln marching 
with hasty strides to come up with the British, Governor 
Eutledge hurrying down from Orangeburg with about 600 
militia, hastening to get to town, lest he should be shut 
off. 

Never was there such consternation and confusion, five 
armies moving through the lower parts of the State at the 
same time, and all for different purposes. 

A large proportion of the militia of the State had been 
drafted, put under the command of Colonel Richardson, 
and marched for the American head-quarters.* A portion 
of this draft doubtless formed the expedition from Pedee, 
long after spoken of as the " Black Swamp Voyage. ''f 
Its destination was Black SAvamp, Beaufort District, or the 
neighborhood, toward which a general movement had been 
made. The term " Voyage '' was used by writers of a pre- 
vious age for expeditions either by land or sea, and being 



Ramsay's " Revolution," vol. ii. p. 12. f Ayer's " Narrative." 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 295 

gradually adopted into the spoken language of the day, was 
retained for a long period after, as in this instance, though 
it had become obsolete with contemporary writers. 

The retreating and invading forces concentrated towards 
Charles-town, and but for a remarkable delay on the part of 
General Prevost, when not far from the city, it would, as 
all accounts agree, undoubtedly have been taken. In the 
disposition of the troops for the defence of the town, 
Colonel Mcintosh, with the 5th Regiment, was commanded 
to take post in the redoubt, on the right side of the line.''^ 
On the 12th of May, when the question was carried for 
giving up the town on a neutrality, a respectable merchant 
and citizen of Charles-town was affected to tears at the 
humiliating spectacle. 

Colonel John Laurens was requested to carry a message 
from the Governor and Council to General Prevost, but 
begged to be excused, saying, that though he would do any- 
thing in his power to serve his country, he could not think 
of carrying such a message as that. General Moultrie then 
sent for Colonel Mcintosh, and requested he would go with 
Colonel Roger Smith, who had been called on by the 
Governor with the message. They both begged to be ex- 
cused, but were at length pressed into compliance. Colonel 
Prevost acted on the part of the British. 

The message was to this effect : to propose a neutrality 
during the war between Great Britain and America; and 
the question, whether the State should belong to Great 
Britain or remain one of the United States, was to be de- 
termined by the treaty of peace between the two powers. 
The commissioners held their conference a quarter of a mile 
from the American gate. The enemy would accede to no 
other terms but the surrender of the Americans as prisoners of 
war. The result was speedily known, and at daylight the 
next morning, the joyful report was spread along the lines 
that the enemy had gone.f 

The news of the siege was carried rapidly through the 
State, and many were filled with alarm and gloomy fore- 
bodings. 

* Moultrie's " Memoirs," p. 412. t Ibid., p. 431. 



296 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 

This entry occurs iu the journal of the Rev. Evan Pugh^ 
under date of May 11th: "Have news of Charles- town 
being besieged by the enemy. I feel melancholy about the 
fate of Charles-town and my friends." 

Sounds of rejoicing, however, were soon to follow. On 
the 14th of July, Mr. Pugh preached a thanksgiving sermon 
for the signal deliverance from the foe. But the joyous 
respite was of short duration. 

With the approach of October, preparations were made 
for an attack on Savannah by the combined forces of the 
French and Americans. On the 9th of that month the 
assault was made, and many sealed their devotion to liberty 
with their blood. Among the number of these was Major 
Samuel "Wise, a gallant soldier of freedom and a cherished 
son of Pedee. He served the country of his adoption with 
enthusiastic ardor, and was ever true to those instincts 
which he brought with him from the land of his birth. 
Major Wise Avas possessed of a generous disposition and 
high sense of honor. Scrupulous himself in his dealings 
with others, he exacted a like course of conduct in return, 
which iuA'olved him at times in serious difficulties. His 
last years were saddened by reverse and bereavement. His 
end was such as he desired it to be, at the post of duty and 
in the thickest of the strife. 

Leaving no son, his name disappeared, except in its re- 
cords, from the history of Carolina, but will ever be cherished 
as one on that extended roll of patriot wortliics which these 
stirring times produced. The death of this good soldier 
was not the only one for which the inhabitants of the Pedee 
were called to mourn on this occasion. 

In his journal, November 9th, with reference to the siege 
of Savannah, Mr. Pugh wrote: " We lost many youth ;" and 
on the 21st, preached (Job. xiv. 1,2) "A funeral for those 
youths lost at Savannah, 9th October past, from these 
parts." 

Captain Harrington, having removed some time previous 
to this from the Welch Neck on Pedee, to llichmond 
County, North Carolina, was, on the 25tli of November, 
commissioned colonel of the militia of that county ; and, in 
June of the following year, promoted to the brigadier- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 297 

generalship of the Salisbury District, which embraced an 
extensive territoiy. His head-quarters afterward were 
chiefly at Cross Creek ; a part of the time also at Haley's 
ferry, and for a short period near Cheraw Hill. 

The Legislature was now in session in Charles-town, 
giving all the aid in its power to the defence of the State. 
The death of Major Wise created a vacancy in the represen- 
tation from St. David's, which was filled by the election of 
the Hon. Henry Pendleton. Judge Pendleton had been on 
the Law Bench since April, 1776; but at this time, and 
until the adoption of the Constitution of 1790, a judge was 
eligible to a seat in the Legislature. He was, however, not 
a resident of St. David's Parish, and the Constitution of 1788 
made the ownership of a settled estate and freehold in his 
own right, of the value of three thousand four hundred 
pounds currency, clear of debt, in the parish or district for 
which a non-resident should be elected, necessary to his 
eligibility. Whether he actually owned such an estate, or 
was made for the time a nominal possessor, is not known. 
There was a difficulty, however, connected with the election, 
as appears from the following proceedings in the House of 
Representatives, Jan. 24th, 1780, viz. : — " Mr. Justice Burke 
presented to this House a Petition of the Hon. Henry Pen- 
dleton, Esq., and the same was received and read, setting 
forth, that the Petitioner is informed by several inhabitants 
and freeholders of the Parish of St. David's, that he was 
unanimously elected by a majority of the electors of the 
said parish, to be their representative in the General 
Assembly, and that, by some accident or neglect, the writ 
of election has never been returned. The Petitioner there- 
fore prays that he may be admitted to his seat, and that the 
right of representation may be reserved to the said parish, 
notwithstanding any accident that may have befallen the said 
writ. Sec. 

" Read also the following affidavit, which was presented 
with the said Petition, viz. : — 

" South Carolina. 

" George Cogdell maketh oath, that he was at the 
election in St. David's Parish for a member to serve in the 



298 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

General Assembly in the room of Major Wise, deceased, 
about the latter end of November, held in consequence of a 
writ issued for that purpose, when the Hon. H. Pendleton, 
Esq., was, as he understands, unanimously elected, and sup- 
poses the said writ, if not returned, must have been lost or 
neglected.^' 

The campaign of 1779 ended without any decisive result 
on either side. The Tories, as usual, had been actively at 
work, the Whigs having been called away from their homes, 
and some of the former were now paying the penalty, as 
the following record shows : — 

" Received of Thomas Powe, Commissary of my Regi- 
ment, 10 lbs. corn flour, 750 lbs. beef, and 450 lbs. corn flour, 
for use of my Regiment, guarding the Tories in jail. — Oct. 
30th, 1779. Geo. Hicks, Colonel.^'* 

This was the jail at Long Bluff', and these Tories had 
doubtless been engaged in some attack or plundering expe- 
dition, and captured. 

Maurice Murphy was now in command as acting Colonel 
in the lower part of St. David^s Parish, on the east side of 
the river, embracing probably a portion of Liberty Precinct. 
He was a man of reckless daring and ardent patriotism, and 
performed a most influential part throughout the war. Every 
available resource of men and means was now called into 
requisition. 

The prospect was most inviting for the enemy. 

The French had taken their departure ; and no sooner 
was this known, than a grand expedition was set on foot 
from New York, under Sir Henry Clinton, for the reduction 
of Charles-town, and the subjection of the State. The Con- 
tinental Regiments in South Carolina had been greatly re- 
duced by the casualties of war and the expiration of their 
terms of service. From twenty-four hundred in 1777, the 
number was diminished to eight hundred in 1780. The 
future was full of gloom for the Whigs. Nevertheless, the 
resolution was adopted, iu full House of Assembly, to de- 
fend Charles-town to the last extremity. 



* Comptroller's office, Coluuibia, S. C. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 299 

The militia were ordered to rendezvous, and every man 
who could to take up arms. There was an ominous calm, 
now that the conflict of 1779 had passed away; and every 
one felt that the last and decisive struggle was soon to begin. 
The T\Tiigs of Pedee were prepared for the strife, and an- 
other chapter will show how nobly they responded to the 
call of their country. 



300 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Opening of year 1780 — Response from Pedee for defence of Chai-les-town — 
Movement of forces — No. Ca. militia under Colonel Harrington — The colonel 
leaves for Newbern — His letter — Eflects of fall of Charles- town on the 
people — Incidents connected with it — Extracts from Pugh's Jom'ual — 
Peeling of the British — Wemys's Expedition up Pedee — Houses burned — 
Adam Cusack hung — Reaches Cheraw — Extracts from Pugh's Journal — 
Oath of allegiance — Incidents connected with it — Wemys returns — Indul- 
gence^shown him afterwards by General Sunipter — Extract of letter of Sir 
H. Clinton — Cornwallis takes command — Disposition of British troops — 
M'Arthur sent to Cheraw — Cornwallis's despatches — Account of Harrison, 
a Tory colonel — M'Arthur at Cheraw — Letter of General Caswell — 
M'Arthur at Long Bluff — Attempt to capture Thomas Ayer — The result — 
ytirring scene — Capture of Nathan Sweat — His escape — M'Arthur returns 
to Cheraw — Plundering parties at General Harrington's and Thomas 
EUerbe's — Colonel Bryan, a Loyalist, marches to Cheraw — Enemy alarmed 
— M'Arthur to fall back — Cornwallis and Tarleton on subject — General 
Gates arrives at Pedee — Proclamation — M'Arthur leaves — Expedition down 
the river — Its failure — Whig exploit — Major Thomas distinguishes himself 
— Colonel Mills escapes — Cornwallis's and Tarleton's accounts of it — Sick- 
ness of British at Cheraw — Account of 71st Regiment — Safe conduct for 
Mrs. Harrington — Skirmish in Anson County — Remarkable negro — 
Letter of J. L. Gervais — Letter of Spruce M'Macay — Accounts preceding 
battle of Camden — Effects of Gates's defeat — Extracts from Pugh's Journal 
— George M'Call — Movements about Long Blufl' — Colonel Ivolb — Samuel 
Bacot's adventure with Tories — Elias Du Bose's capture — Tories plunder 
Mrs. Harrington — Subsequent flight — General Harrington marches to Pedee 
— Letter of Colonel Nicholas — Of General Gates — Notice of Wemys — Letter 
of J. Penn — -Of Colonel Brown from Beauty Spot — Of General Gates — Of 
Colonel Martin — General Harrington reaches Haley's Ferry — Marches to 
Cheraw — General Smallwood's letter — Letter of Colonel Brown — Account of 
MajorBarfield — Colonel Davidson's letter to General Harrington — Colonel 
Brown's letter to same — Extract from Gazette — General Smallwood to 
General Harrington — Colonel Marion's letter — Colonel Ivolb's — Return of his 
regiment — Cornwallis's letter to Sir H. "Clinton — List of negroes in British 
service — General M'lntosh's death — Account of him — Colonel Donaldson to 
General Harrington — Arrival of General Green at Charlotte — Divides his 
forces — Marches to Pedee — Position there — Cornwallis to Tarleton — 
Tarleton's view of American movements — Close of 1780. 

The year 1780 opened upon Carolina under the most threat- 
ening aspects. The approach of a greatly increased force of 
the enemy filled the inhabitants with dire apprehensions^ 
which^ notwithstanding the most heroic efforts for their"' 
defence^ were soon to be realized. Promptly responding to 
the call from Charles-toNvn, all the available troops from 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 301 

Pedee were soon in motion, as from other parts of the 
State. The first division of Col. Hick^s regiment, under 
the command of Lieut. -Col. Kolb, was on the march."^ The 
second division, under Col. Hicks, moved in February. 
Tristram Thomas was major in this command,, and John 
Andrews, adjutant. Edmund Irby, Thomas Ellerbe, Stephen 
Jackson, and Maurice Murphy commanded companies. 

Capt. James Gregg's company formed part of a detach- 
ment under Major Thornby. They remained at the Ten 
mile House (near Charles-town), two months, when their 
term of service expired. Just then Sir H. Clinton 
approached the city, when Major Thornby and other officers 
proposed to their men to volunteer for its defence. They 
did so unanimously, and marched in and remained in the 
city until the capitulation. The late George M'^Call,t of 
Darlington District, then quite a young man and active 
in every patriot service, was a member of Capt. Gregg's 
company. He was also under his command in Charles- 
town during the previous year. 

On the 6th of April, a body of North Carolina 
Militia imder Col. Henry Wm. Harrington, reached the 
city, having entered by way of Addison's Ferry. Major 
Lemuel BentonJ appears to have remained on the Pedee, with 
a sufficient force for the protection of the inhabitants against 
the Tories. Col. Harrington left Charles-town before the 
fall of the city for urgent public reasons, as appears from 
the following letter to Mrs. Harrington. 

" George-town, 30 April, 1780. 

" I am now in George-town, sixty miles nearer 
than I was last Friday morning, at which time I left Charles - 



* The following record remains : — " Reed, of Thomas Powe, Commissary of 
Colonel Hick's Regiment, 1600 pounds of corn flour, three large steers, 200 lbs. 
of pork, 20 busls. of corn, for the use of 1st division of said Regt., on march to 
Charles-town. "Abel Kolb." 

f George M'Call was born on Lynche's Creek, in 1760. Immediately after 
the Revolution, he removed to Georgia, and remained until 1789, when he re- 
turned to South Carolina, and settled in Darlington District, vvhei'e he resided 
until his death. 

X In Rev. Mr. Pugh's journal, April lOth, 1780, appears this entry, viz. : — 
" Preached at the Lake, Zach. ix. 12, to army under Major Benton." This was 
doubtless Lowder's Lake, in Darlington District. 



302 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

town^ with the advice and unanimous consent of the 
Lieut.-Governor and Council, and by Genl. Lincoln's order, 
and am now on my route for Newbern, there to take my 
seat in Assembly ; and to request^ in behalf of South Caro- 
lina^ a large and immediate aid of North Carolina Militia. 

" H. W. Harrington/' 

The news of the fall of Charles-town spread rapidly 
through the State, causing the wildest alarm among the 
desponding, and for a time almost despairing inhabitants. 
Families were thrown into a state of the deepest anxiety for 
their absent members, not knowing what had befalleii them, 
or how, though their lives had been spared, they would be 
treated by the foe. The most exaggerated reports were put 
in circulation, growing as they went, which added much for 
a short time to the general distress. As an example of this, 
the case of Major Robert Lide may be mentioned. He had 
been hurried with a detachment from Pedee at the last 
moment, for the relief of the beleaguered city ; but, before 
reaching it, the capitulation took place. 

His anxious wife was walking out when the news reached 
her of the sad reverse; and with a feeble constitution 
already giviug way under the burden of previous suspense, 
she passed into a swoon, was borne insensible to the house, 
and never recovered from the shock. 

In the journal of Mr.Pugh, the following entries appear: — 

" May 17. Had the news of Charles-town taken. 

" May 18. Preached at Cashway — a fast day. 

" May 22. At home — much terrified about the English 
Light Horse coming. 

" May 23. Had certain news of Charles-town being in the 
hands of the British army. Our men came up. Mr. Hart up.'' 

The report of the Light Horse coming was but too well 
founded. It proved to be the rapid and devastating march 
of Major Wemys, to reap the first fruits on the Pedee of 
the recent success, and to fasten upon the popular mind the 
idea that the State was lost beyond recovery. The British 
conceived themselves in possession of the rights of sove- 
reignty over a conquered country, and that therefore the 
efforts of the citizens to assert their independence auy fur- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 303 

ther, was chargeable with the complicated guilt of ingrati- 
tude, treason, and rebellion. 

Influenced by these opinions, and transported with indig- 
nation against the inhal)itants, they violated rights which are 
held sacred between independent hostile nations. In almost 
every district their progress was marked with blood, and 
with deeds so atrocious that they reflected disgrace on their 
arms. This was emphatically true of Major Wemys, of the 
63rd regiment. He marched, soon after the fall of Charles- 
town, from George-town to Cheraw, on the west side of the 
river, destroying property of every description, and treating 
the inhabitants with relentless cruelty. 

The dwellings of Nathan Savage at the mouth of Lynchers 
Creek, of Jordan Gibson at Little Bluff, or Wiggin's Land- 
ing, and of Moses Murphy in the same neighbourhood, with 
many others, were burned. Among the first to feel the 
efiects of the fury of this merciless officer, was Adam Cusack, 
a noted Whig, who had rendered himself particularly ob- 
noxious to the enemies of his country. He had neither 
taken parole as a prisoner nor protection as a British sub- 
ject ; and was charged with no other crime than refusing to 
transport some British officers over a ferry, and shooting at 
them across a river. "^ Another account states that he had 
shot at the black servant of a Tory officer, Jolin Brockington, 
whom he knew, across Black Creek. He was taken prisoner 
soon after, and for this offence tried by a court martial, and, 
on the evidence of the negro, condemned. f His wife and 
children prostrated themselves before Wemys as he was on 
horseback, for a pardon, who would have ridden over them, 
had not one of his own officers prevented the foul deed. 
From this scene he proceeded on to superintend the execu- 
tion. Cusack was carried to Long Bluff' and hung.t 
Dr. James P. Wilson made an earnest effort to save his life, 
and came very near involving himself in a serious difficulty 
with the British officer. Wemys lost no time in pursuing 



* Ramsay's " Revolution," vol. ii. p. 156. 
■j" James's " Life of Marion," p. 58. 
t He was hung about the spot first occupied by the depdt of the Cheraw and 
Darlington Railroad, at the foot of the hill, below the village of Society Hill, 
then on the public road leading from Cheraw to George-town. 



304 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

his way^ and calling the people to submission. He reached 
Cheraw early in Jnne. 

The following extracts from Mr. Pugh^s journal will give, 
in few words, the sad picture of the conqueror's progress. 

'' June 1 1 . Went up to the Cheraws to surrender myself 
to the British ; lodged at Col. Lide's. 

" Monday, 12th. Signed parole, as a Prisoner of War.'' 

Agitated and distressed, and scarcely knowing what to do, 
he appears to have repented of his course, as a subsequent 
entry indicates. 

"Thursday, 22. Went to the Court House in order to 
give up my parole, but could not do it. 

" Thursday, 29th. Went to Dr. Mills's, took the Oath of 
Allegiance to the King ; and home. 

" Saturday, July 2. Went to preach at Cashway, began 
my sermon, but the congregation broke up by the re (bels!) 
taking the horses." 

Dr. Mills had either not sympathized heartily with his 
country at the first, or was possessed of one of those easy 
consciences which adapts itself with facility to a change of 
circumstances. He gave in his adhesion at once to the 
enemy; and from that time became a determined foe to 
the American cause. He was an evil counsellor for every 
desponding patriot within his reach, but, in dne season, 
paid the penalty of his guilt. . The declaration of allegiance 
imposed upon many of the people, was in these words : — 
" I, A. B., do hereby acknowledge and declare myself to be 
a true and faithful subject to his Majesty, the King of 
Great Britain, and that I will at all times hereafter be obe- 
dient to his government ; and that whenever I shall be 
thereunto required, I will be ready to maintain and defend 
the same against all persons whatsoever." 

While Wemys was in the neighbourhood of Long Bluff, 
Dr. Wilson's house was burned, and such of his property as 
came within reach of the enemy, was destroyed. His wife 
was forced to seek shelter at Charlotte, North Carolina. 

The dwelling of Capt. Wm. Dewitt,"^ on Cedar Creek, on 



* About the spot where the late Judge Evans resided. Tlie late Major 
John Dewitt, of Society Hill, was a lad of fourteen or fifteen, and went with 
his father's family to Guilford. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 305 

this, or a subsequent occasion, was also destroyed. On the 
approach of the British, Capt. Dewitt took his family to 
Guilford, N. C, but immediately returned himself, and took 
an active part to the close of the war. 

When called upon to take the Oath of Allegiance to the 
King, he is said to have drawn with his sword a circle on 
the ground, indicating that spot to be his country, and 
standing thereon, to have uttered words of proud defiance 
to those who would thus have prohibited him from his sacred 
fealty as an inhabitant of Carolina and an American citizen. 
Similar to this in tone, was the spirited reply of Thomas 
Ayer, who, when urged by Magnus Corgill and other neigh- 
bours to take protection, and told, that if he refused, his 
property would be confiscated, warmly replied, " the ques- 
tion was not one of property, but liberty !" 

Many of the inhabitants submitted, others yielded nomi- 
nally, intending to resist upon the first opportunity, while 
not a few hurriedly removed with their families, servants, 
and other personal effects, to places of safety, leaving their 
dwellings to the mercy of the enemy, but returning them- 
selves to repel the foe. 

Those of the Whigs who so far submitted as to take the 
oath, intending not to keep it, felt, that being forced upon 
them, it was not binding. John Wilson and James Gilles- 
pie, then young men, with a neighbour, had been to 
Cheraw to swear allegiance. After crossing the river on 
their return, they rode for some time in silence, as if 
absorbed in thought, and afraid to utter their sentiments ; 
at length one of them said, " Well, I don^t think that 
amounted to much^^ — and thereupon, all joined in a hearty 
laugh, finding a perfect agreement of opinion on the 
subject. 

The atrocities perpetrated by the British and Tories, for 
the latter gladly followed in the train of the conqueror, only 
served to drive the Whigs to desperation, and led to a 
terrible revenge when the time arrived for throwing off the 
yoke. And that time was not long in coming; for no 
sooner had the British withdrawn, than the spirit of 
liberty, crushed, but not subdued, began to rise to the 
ascendant. 



306 HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIEEAWS. 

On the 25tli of July, Mr. Pugli wrote these few but 
pregnant words : " The people in arms against the English/' 
Major Wemys, after accomplishing the objects of his 
bloody visit, returned to George- town, to pollute no more 
the upper parts of the Pedee with his presence. And yet, 
this man, who had been guilty of so many atrocities, was 
made the recipient of that generous return which the in- 
jured people of Carolina so often extended to their heartless 
oppressors.* On the 12tli of the following November, in 
attempting to surprise General Sumptcr, near Fish Dam Ford, 
on Broad River, he was taken prisoner, having been severely 
wounded in tlic engagement. He had in his jDocket a list 
of the houses he had burned at Williamsburgh and Pedee : 
with great trepidation he showed it to Sumptcr, and begged 
he would protect him from the militia. Notwithstanding 
his atrocities, he was treated Avith indulgence, but became a 
cripple for lifc.f 

Up to this time, the nearest posts to the Cheraw District 
held by the British, were George-town and Camden. A 
position was now to be taken on the Upper Pedee, to add 
to the lengthening and tightening chain, and to the alarm 
and suffering of the inhabitants. 

The following extract from a letter of Sir Henry Clinton, 
of June 4th, 1780, to the Hon. George Gervain, one of his 
Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, Avill convey some 
idea of the condition of things in Carolina, as viewed at 
least by the British Commander, and the feeling of the 
enemy : — 

" With the greatest pleasure," he said, '' I farther report 
to your lordship, that the inhabitants from every quarter 
repair to the detachments of the army, and to this garrison 
(Charles-town), to declare their allegiance to the King, and 
to ofler their services in arras for the support of the Go- 
vernment. In many instances they have brought in as 
prisonei'S their former oppressors or leaders ; and I may 
venture to assert, that there are few men in South Carolina 
who are not either our prisoners or in arms with us. "J 



* Ramsay's " Revolution," vol. ii. pp. 188, 89. 
t James's " Lite of Marion," p. 73. 
J Tarleton's " Memoirs/' p. 80. Tliis interesting work, and one indis- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS. 307 

Sir Henry Clinton now left for the North, and his com- 
mand devolved on Lord Cornwallis. A temporary period 
seems to have been put to any organized resistance in Caro- 
lina. A partisan warfare, however, was here and there kept 
up, especially with the Tories, who were now bold and con- 
stantly marauding, wreaking their vengeance with bitter 
malignity on the Whigs of Pedee. 

Emissaries were despatched by Lord Cornwallis to North 
Carolina, with instructions to some of the leading Royalists 
of that State, to " attend to the harvest, to prepare provi- 
sions, and to remain quiet till the King's troops were ready 
to advance, about the latter part of August or early in Sep- 
tember ; that interval of time being deemed indispensably 
requisite for the construction of magazines, with propc;rly 
secured communications, for a clear establishment of the 
militia, and for a final adjustment of their civil and military 
regulations which in future were to govern Georgia and 
South Carolina/'* 

Early in June, Lord Cornwallis made such a disposition 
of the British troops as to establish a thoroughly organized 
line of posts upon the frontiers of the State. 

" Major M'Arthur, with the 71st Ilcgimejit (Highlanders), 
was stationed at the Cheraws, in the vicinity of the Pedee 
River, to cover the country between Camden and George- 
town, and to hold correspondence with a friendly settlement 
at Cross Creek,t in North Carolina.'"" It was also said, 
" Besides the defence of the frontiers, another material ad- 
vantage resulted from this disposition of the king's troops. 
The officers and men of the different regiments and corps 
were supplied by the flour and cattle, whilst the horses were 
foraged by the produce of the country ; any expenditure of 
the provisions brought across the Atlantic was unknown, 
except in Charles-town and Savannah. "| 

In a letter of the 30th of June, to Sir H. Clinton, Lord 



pensable to a thorou;,'h understanding of the Revolution in Carolina, is written 
in tlie best style of milltiiry history, and throws much light, not otherwise to 
be had, on all connected with the movemenls of the British forces, and the 
general plan of their campaigns. 

* 'J'arleton's " Memoirs," p. 85. f Now Fayetteville. 

X " Tarleton," pp. 87, 88. 

X 2 



308 IIISTOKY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 

CormvalHs said : " I have agreed to a ])roposal made by Mr. 
Harrison, to raise a j)r()vineial eorps of tive lumdred men, 
witli the rank of Major, to he conii)osed of the natives of 
the conntry between the Pedee and Wateree, and in which 
it is extremely probable that he will succeed/'"'^ 

The Tories on Lynchers Creek, in the neighbourhood of 
M'Callum's Ferry, eon\niitted many mnrders and depreda- 
tions. They were headed by the two Harrisons, to one of 
whom Cornwallis refers. It was he, doubtless, who was 
afterwards a eolonel, the other becoming a major, in the 
Hritish service, and both called by Tarleton, men of fortnue. 
They were, in fact, two of the greatest banditti that ever 
infested the country. The })roposed plan of a provincial 
corps was never carried out. 15cfor(^ the lall of Charles- 
town these brothers lived iu a wretched log hut, by the road 
near M'Callnm^s, in which there was no bed covering but 
the skins of wild beasts. During the contest the majDr 
was killed ; after it was over, the colonel retired to Jamaica, 
■with much wealth, acquired by depredation. f 

M'Artluir reached Cheraw some time during the month 
of June. The parish church was called into requisition for 
a portion of his ^rce, and traces arc yet to be seen some 
distance otit on the sonthern line of the town of the tempo- 
raiy barracks erected. According to tradition, M^ Arthur 
and other ofKcers were not wanting in courtesy to the ladies 
of the vicinity, and as a consequence were treated with such 
a degree of civility as the necessities of the case made im- 
perative. The soldiers, however, Averc not restrained ; and 
many persons in the neighbourhood were plundered and 
treated with indignity. 

Numerous incidents are related of the suflerings and 
losses of the inhabitants during the brief sojourn of the 
enemy. 

The report reached Western South Carolina, at Camp Ca- 
tawba,J Old Nation, about the Ith of July, that Gen. Caswell, 



* Tnrlctoii p. 117. f Jaiues's " Million," p. 45. 

X Letter from a Mr. WiUimiis to liis wife, of Itli July, from Camp Catawba. 
Gibbe's " Docmnentary History," 177G 62, p. 135. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 301) 

of the North Carolina line, had defeated the British at the 
Cheraws, and eut off the 71st Regiment entirely. But this 
was a mistake. The enemy was yet to remain there for a 
brief season triumphant. 

On the 5th of July, General Caswell wrote to General 
Harrington from " Camp ten miles south of Ramsay," as 
follows : — 

'' Dear Sir, 

" I had your favor from Chatham Court House, 
and also one from Col. Collier, and am much obliged by 
your information. 

" Nothing new has happened in this part of the country 
since your departure. Donaldson's party left him at Cole's 
Bridge last Friday night, on the approach of 400 horse, they 
say from the Cheraws, 200 of which were British; since 
which I have heard nothing from that quarter. I shall 
wait on the Baron de Kalb to-day, and will fix the time and 
place of our joining. He is to be this day at Wilcox's Iron 
Works. If it will not be attended with danger to the troops 
to move from Salisbury, I presume Gen. Rutherford will 
join me, in consequence of my letter by your favor, on the 
upper part of Deep River. Pray present my compliments 
to the General, and let him know I expect to hear from him 
on that subject daily. 

" From you, I flatter myself I shall frequently hear. 
" I am, with great esteem, dear Sir, 

'' Your most obedient servant, 

" R. Caswell. 

" Brigadier-General Harrington.'^ 

Soon after M'Arthur's arrival at Cheraw, he went down 
the river with a detachment, and made his head-quarters for 
a short time at Long Bluff. His force was large enough 
to admit of division, and to keep the country in awe. 

While at Long Bluff, he offered a handsome reward for 
the capture of Thomas Ayer. Ayer had made himself con- 
spicuous a short time before, as the leader of a company 
which had been sent out to take some bold and mischievous 



310 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

persons^ wlio had rendered themselves obnoxious to the 
inhabitants by their lawless depredations. 

Having succeeded in capturing a portion of the band, he 
secured the country against any more of their ravages by 
hanging them all. 

The effect of the reward offered for Ayer, was his cap- 
ture by a party of Tory neighbours. They kept vigilant 
watch for him, and caught him while on a brief and 
cautious visit to his family. He came up at night, and 
keeping close during the day, intended to leave for camp the 
following night ; but, late in the afternoon, sixteen Tories 
galloped up to the house and secured him. They tied him 
with buck-skin strings, furnished by old Magnus Corgill for 
the purpose, and hurried him off toward the river, intending 
to take him immediately to M'Arthur. But, by the time 
they reached Hunt^s Bluff, a terrific thunderstorm had blown 
up, and fearing to cross the river and prosecute their jour- 
ney through the swamp in the darkness of such a night, 
they concluded to keep their prisoner in an old unoccupied 
house on the bank until morning. George Manderson, the 
leader of the party, apprehending no danger from any 
quarter, left Ayer in charge of the others, and went down 
with one of his companions, Tom John, to get supper and 
sleep at old Jonathan John's. Relief was soon to overtake 
the now despairing Ayer. A few hours after the Tories left 
his residence, his elder brother, Hartwell, with five Geor- 
gians, rode up very unexpectedly to the family. The names 
of these timely visitors were — Willinm Cooper, James 
Nephew, Charles Tharj), John Tharj), and Joseph Plummer. 

Upon being informed of what had occurred, Hartwell Ayer 
and his companions set out in immediate pursuit, and took 
the Tory party completely by surprise. They approached 
imder cover of the darkness and tempest, and were at the 
door before being discovered. Most of the party within 
were asleep. Shooting first those who were up, they con- 
tinued to fire and despatch with the sabre and bayonet until 
all were killed, except A sal John. Being a son of his old 
neighbour, who was a peaceable man, Thomas Ayer pro- 
tected him with his own body, and induced the captors to 



niSTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 311 

spare his life. Then mounting the horse of Dick Owen, 
one of the Tories just killed, he returned with all possible 
speed to his family, not knowing what might have befallen 
them. Upon learning the whereabouts of George Man- 
derson and Tom John, Hart well Ayer and his companions 
went off in pursuit. Riding up cautiously to old John's 
residence, they civilly inqixired for Captain Manderson,"^ 
who, as he appeared at the door, was salvited with a shower 
of bullets. Though struck by several balls, the wounds 
inflicted were slight ; and springing through the back door 
of the house, he made his escape to the swamp, which was 
near at hand. Tom John was not so fortunate. He was 
knocked down with the butt of an old musket, and then 
pinned to the floor with the hayonet, remaining in that 
condition as the gun was jerked ofi", and supposed to be dead. 
But, on the bayonet being removed, he arose, and proved to 
be not seriously injured. He lived several years afterwards. 
When informed of the rescue of Ayer, and the slaughter of 
the Tories, M'Arthur was more enraged than ever. He 
determined to go in person and take vengeance. Cross- 
ing the river with a strong party, he came very near 
surprising the family, then at home, consisting of Mrs. 
Ayer and her' sons, Lewis Malone and Zaccheus, both 
of whom were lads. They made a timely escape, how- 
ever, to the swamp, which was near by, and there remained 
in concealment several weeks, being supplied with food by 
their good neighbour, James Sweat. f M'Arthur took pos- 
session of the deserted premises, killed the stock, destroyed' 
most of the fencing, and burned all the buildings except a 
large crib, which he spared on account of the corn it con- 
tained, meaning to appropriate it to the use of his troops. 



* Captain Manderson removed after the Revolution to Georgia, and settled 
on the Savannah River. He died about the year 1794. William Cooper and 
James Nephew, of the band of Georgians, were half brothers. They lived at 
Sapello, Georgia, long after the war was over. 

f Mr. Sweat was then quite a young man. He afterwards became a Bap- 
tist preacher, and removed to the south-western part of the State, where some 
of his descendants are still living. 

Nathan, an elder brother of William Sweat, was a brave and active Whig. 
Their father, who was then au old man and uitirm, lived quietly, and was un- 
disturbed by any one. 



312 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

It was, however, subsequently taken off and secured by the 
friends of the family. Every valuable negro was carried 
away, with others belonging to different persons in the 
neighbourhood. The now empty crib became the dwelling of 
the family to the close of the war. 

Nathan Sweat was captured by M' Arthur's party, and 
carried to their quarters on the west side of the river above. 
He remained long enough with them to discover their 
fleetest horse ; aiul, watching a favorable opportunity, 
mounted the animal and bade his captors adieu. He was 
pursued, but succeeded in reaching the swamp below, and 
made his escape. On the following morning, while sitting 
on his horse at his mother's door, and in the act of receiving 
food from her hands^ the old lady discovered the approach 
of a hostile party, and cried out, " Nathan, the enemy are 
upon you.'' Again putting spurs to the noble steed, which 
had outstripped his pursuers the day before, he made good 
his escape, congratulating himself, doubtless, as the distance 
widened between them, on his correct judgment of a horse, 
to wliich he owed his life. 

After his return to Chcraw, M'Arthnr sent a detachment 
up the river on a plundering expedition. On their approach- 
ing the residence of General Harrington,' in Richmond 
county, Mrs. H., who was at home, discovered them in time 
to have a horse secreted in an out-building, which, for- 
tunately, was not disturbed. Such of the negroes as did 
not escape were taken, and carried, with the live-stock, to 
Cheraw. The overseer was tied, and made to accompany 
them. Mrs. Harrington, who was most distressed at the 
capture of the servants, fearing they would be carried en- 
tirely away, followed on, to recover them, if possible. 
M'Arthur told her she could have them if they would go 
with her. But, being probably captivated with the idea of 
freedom, they preferred remaining where they were, with 
the exception of a woman and her family, who went back 
with their mistress. 

The most of these and other negroes taken by the enemy 
were recaptured upon the breaking up of the British post 
at Cheraw. The difficulty in the way of the enemy was to 
get any considerable body of slaves to the coast. The oidy 



IIISTOHY OK TIIIO OM) CIIKIiAWS. 3K^ 

a[)i)Jircntly feasible rn(!!uiH wuh ])y tlu; rivci- in ljr);Us, uud the 
aUctiipt lliiiHto transport them proved to be; inelleetual. A 
few ncf^ro rn(;ii wc^re carried olV with tlie troops, and nev<;r 
recovered.* (Japtain Thomas Mlierbe, wlio lived a few miles 
below Clicraw, sufl'ercd severely in the loss of ])ro{)erty. 
Manyliorses were Uikcn from him, of whieh h(; had a large 
number. Having beeome obnoxi(jus as an active Whig, he 
was obliged to seerete himself from the enemy. As ma- 
rauding ])arti(!H would go to the house to demand a fresh 
suj)ply oi' horses, Mrs. I'^Uerbe, who would not have dared 
flatly to refuse, was sometimes relieved by the faithfulness 
and sagacity of one or two servants, who kept tlu; horses in 
the recesses of the swamp, driving them from place to 
I)lace, their mistress not being informed of their movements ; 
she could only pl(!ad ignorance, and thus her husband's 
[)i'op(!rty was saved. Captain MUerbe lost ru>t a few negroes. 
Claudius I'egues had also a number taken by the enemy 
while; at (Jheraw, the most of whom escaped, and subse- 
(pu'ritly returned to their mastcir. Oru; of these was treated 
with gntat (U'uelty by the British. His account was, that 
tli(!y (ji'dered him to ride, arul because he fell off several 
times, they hacked him with their swords, leavihg him, as 
they supposed, dead by the road-side. He managed to 
crawl home, and eventually rec(JV(;rcd, though sh(j(;kingly 
mangled. 

The form of legality was sometimes given t(j acts of 
plundering. An originalf receipt or certificate is in these 
wo I'd H : — 

" Got at Philip Pledger's house, (;ight h(jrs(;s (or his 
Majesty's service. 

" liy TnoiwAK Hamilton, 
".July 2:i. 1780. " fiieut. 71st Regt." 

* Of those taken off on thi« occiision, was a Hcrvant of General Ifarringtoii, 
niimeil Cud'ee. He wuh not,crl for his reinarkiibly valuable traifH of cliarsuiter. 
Hit WUH KUI)])0«C'<1 to have been carried with tin; JJiitisli on their return to (-'um- 
(leri. He BubHeqnently i)aHH(!(l into the liandw of Captain Ciinij(bell, a Uritish 
ofheer, wlio Kettl(;(l after thi; Hevohjtion on I'edee. 

General Harrin(,'ton broii;,'ht a Huit in (,'herawH DiHtrict for IiIb recovery. 
The dain.i^(!s found were lar^e, and only to be diwhar^ed by the delivery (jf the 
negro. Kather than pay the amount, (Jajttain Campbell sent to .Jamaica for 
(Jnffee, where he h:id been trauHported, and delivered him to his nniHter. 
f The original in iu the Aulhor'w poHKcwion. 



314 IIISTOUY OF TlIK OLD ClllQRAWS. 

Hiii (lu> \\'liij;s in lliis si'('(u)ii wrrc not to contiibuto 
imifli l()ii<;(<i' to an impiM-ions and uuspariuf»' too. A (^lumgo 
Aviis rjijjitlly ii|)|)roacliiii^-. 

In a It'ttcr (o Sir lIiMirv (Minion, dated Cliarli's-town, 
July Mill, I7S0, Ia>i(I Cornwallis said : " Tho (lovornmcut 
of Noi'th Carolina is likt>\viso niakinj;' j^roal t'xrrtions [ho 
had rolrnt>d to ^'irginiaJ to raisi> troops, and persecuting 
our tVi(Muls in tlu> most crui-l n>anin>r; in consequcnuie of 
which, (\)lon(>l Hi-yan, altiiouj;h he had pron\ise(l to wait 
for n>y orders, lost all patience, and rose with about 800 
nuMi, on the ^ adkin ; and by adiilicidt and (hmgerous nnir(!li, 
jt)ined M" Arthur on the borders of Anson (\)uuty. About 
two-thirds only t)f his people were arnuMl, and these, 1 be- 
lieve, but indilltMvntly."^" 

(\)loui>l ih'yau was a noted loyalist, and great thiu};s were 
e\[)ei'ted oi' hiui ; but, being of a timorous and undecided 
sj»irit, he accomi)lished little. On the imireh to C'heraws, 
he was actively pursued by (leneral Hnthiu'tord, but had 
the address to elude him f 

" The news brought by tlu\se loyalists created some 
astouishnuMit in the n\ilitary, anil ditVused uuivtMsal con- 
sternation auuiug the inhabitants oi' South (^arolina. Tlu^y 
reported that Major- General l\' Kalb, a French otlicer iu 
th(> American service, >vas advancing fron\ Salisbury w ith a 
large body of C'ontiueutals ; that Colonel Porterlicld was 
bringing State troops from ^'irginia; that (leneral C^aswell 
luul raised a jiowerful force iu North (^ircdina ; and that 
Colonel Sumptcr had already entered the Catawba, a settle- 
ment contiguous to ihc Wacsaws. These accounts being 
propagated and artfully cxaggiM-atcd by the cucuiies within 
the IVovince, caused a winultM-ful feruientation iu the nunds 
of the Anun'ieans, which neitlu-r the lenity of the British 
CovernnuMit, the soliMunity of their [)aroles, by which their 
persons and property enjoyeil protection, ncu- the memory 
of the undeserved pardt)n so lately exteniled to many of 
them, had sntVicient striMigth to retain in a state of submis- 
sion or neutrality, ^^'hilst the Amciicans were eolleetiug 



• " 'riirli'ton's " iMoiniiirs," p. lit), 
t Loo's " Monioirs of Soutliorn Oaniiiaign," vol. i. pp. 158, 15t). 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 315 

their forces, Lord Rawdon made occasional alterations upon 
the frontier, in order to confirm the adherence of the loyal 
inhabitants, and to obviate the designs of the enemy. . . . 
Some detachments were sent out ; others drawn in. . . . 
Major M'Arthur's position in the Cheraws was deemed 
too forward, and he was desired to retire some miles into the 
Province.''* 

So Tarleton afterwards wrote. The subject of M' Arthur's 
position and movements was now exciting no little anxiety 
at head-quarters. On 15th July, Lord Cornwallis wrote to 
Sir H. Clinton : " I. have just received intelligence from 
Lord Rawdon that I)e Kalb has certainly joined Caswell at 
Coxe's plantation on Deep River; his lordship in conse- 
quence has withdrawn Major M'Arthur's detachment over 
the Black Creek, where he means to join him with two 
battalions, and post Lieut. -Col. Webster on Hanging Rock 
Creek. This will make his situation pretty compact, but I 
fear the enemy will make incnrsions into the country. "f 
Appearances were daily becoming more threatening for the 
enemy. A considerable number of the militia of North 
Carolina had taken the field, and agreed to rendezvous at 
Anson Court House on the 20th of July, that they might 
1)0 in readiness to co-operate with the Continental army.J 
Anson Court House was about tliirty miles above Cheraw 
on the river. 

'' On the 21th of July General Gates arrived in the 
American camp. His name and former good fortunes re- 
animated the exertions of the country ; provisions were 
more amply suj)plied by the inhabitants ; and the Con- 
tinental troops now reached the frontiers of South Caro- 
lina. § 

It was now manifest that M^Arthur would be forced to 
make a precipitate retreat from Pedee. The inhabitants 
were greatly encouraged, and ripe for revolt. The advance 
of Gates was rousing into activity all the latent energies of 
the State. The most resolute of the militia, indignant at 
the treatment they had received, and convinced by Sir 



* "Tarleton," pp. 91, 92. f Ibid., p. 120. 

X Ramsay's " Revolution in S. C," vol. ii. p. 139. § "Tarleton," p. 97. 



316 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Heury Clinton's proclauKition, M'liii'li had been fjiithfully 
acted ou by Lord Coruwallis, that rci)ose during the war 
was a chimerical expectation, determined from concealed 
enemies to become open foes. On the day that the liritish 
relinqnished their post at Chcraw, the inhabitants, distressed 
by their previous depredations and disgusted Avith their con- 
duct, took up arms. Preparatory to his departure, JVl' Arthur 
had made an arrangement for transporting a niunber of his 
sick, with the captured negroes, by boats to George-town. 
They were to be under the care of Lord Nairne, and the 
whole under the new-made British colonel, \Villiam Henry 
Mills,* with a militiuy escort, composed of a portion of the 
militia of the country who had taken the oath of allegiance. 
• Hearing of the projected expedition down the river, a 
party of neighbouring "Whigs, under tlic lead of James 
Ciillespic, collected at Bedingtiehrs,t a short distance from 
Chcraw, and determined to gather a larger force and sur- 
prise the enemy. As they Avent on their numbers increased, 
and the command was assigned to Major Tristram Thon\as. 
In the meantime, with the departure of the boats, ^PArthnr 
commenced his retreat towards Black Creek. 

The ^Vhigs fixed upon Hunt's Bluff as the most favor- 
able point for intercepting the expedition. x\. battery of 
wooden guns was hastily constructed, and placed inune- 
diately on the bank, in a sudden bend of the river. In due 
season, as the slowly-moving flotilla appeared, the most im- 
posing demonstration that they could present was made by 
the command of the gallant Thomas, and an unconditional 
surrender demanded. It is not improbable that there was 
a secret understanding with some of the leading nuMi of the 
militia under Colonel ^lills. However this may have been, 
no resistance was attempted, and the surprise was complete. 
At the sanu^ time, a large boat coming up from George-town, 
well stored with necessaries for ^Slajor j\i' Arthur's force, 
was seized for the use of the American army. Colonel Mills 
succeeded in getting away, and made his escape to George- 
town. J The other new-made British otUccrs of the militia 



Lcc's " Memoirs of tlio Soutliorn Ci»nipni<;ii," vol i. p. 162. 
t Now Irbv's Mills, throe miles iVom Cheraw. 
J lliimssij 's " Kovolutioii in S. C," vol. ii. p. 140. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 317 

were taken prisoners by the party under Major Thomas, 
and with some of their men and the sick, more than a 
hundred in number, carried prisoners into North Carolina. 
The British Commander, and Tarlcton also, as will be seen, 
spoke of it afterwards as a mutiny, making no allusion to 
the well-planned surprise by the Whigs, but for which the 
expedition might have; reached George-town in safety. The 
negroes, of course, Avere recaptured and returned to 
their owners. This effective blow struck inf-reased terror 
into the enemy, already alarmed, and encouraged the in- 
habitants to more determined and unyielding resistance. It 
was the first brilliant exploit yet achieved upon the Pedee, 
and occurred just at a time when the most important moral 
effects were likely to follow in its train. 

Lord Cornwallis, deeply chagrined, very naturally at- 
tempted to give the most favorable version of the affair. 
In a letter to Sir H. Clinton, from Charles-town, August 
6th, he thus wrote : — " The general state of things in the 
two Provinces of North and South Carolina, is not very 
materially altered since my letters of the 14th and 15th of 
last month were written."*' Alluding to matters in other 
parts of the State, he proceeds : " In the eastern parts of 
tlie Province, Major M 'Arthur, seeing the great importance 
of the post at Cheraw Hill, and finding himself perfectly 
secure from any attack of the enemy, desired to continue 
there longer than it was intended he should, when I had 
the honor of writing to you on the 15th. At last, however, 
the 71st Regt. grew so exceedingly sickly, that he found it 
absolutely necessary to move, and marched on the 24th to 
the east branch of Lincoln's (Lynchers) Creek. Gates, who 
had taken the command of De Kalb's Corps, was still on Deep 
River ; and Rutherford no farther advanced than Rocky 
River, Pedee. Knowing of no enemy within many miles, he 
ventured to send about 100 sick in boats down the Pedee 
to George-town. Col. Mills, who commanded the Militia 
of the Cheraw District, though a very good man, had not 
complied with my instructions in forming his corps ; but 
had placed more faith in oaths and professions, and attached 
less to the former conduct of those he admitted. The in- 
stant the militia found that M'Arthur had left his post, and 



318 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

were assured that Gates would come the next day^ they 
seized their own officers and the hundred sick, and carried 
them all prisoners into North Carolina. Col. Mills with 
difficulty made his escape to George-town.'"'* In his 
memoirs of the time, Tarleton says : " The approach of 
Gen. Gates with an army of six thousand men, induced 
Lord Rawdon gradually to contract the posts upon the 
frontier, in order to assemble his forces. Major M^ Arthur 
was directed to draw nearer to Camden ; the two battalions 
of the 71st Regiment, under his orders, were at this period 
considerable sufferers by the unhealthy climate of Carolina. 
To disencumber himself for movement, he collected some 
boats on the river Pcdee, and committed upwards of one 
hundred sick men to the care of Col. Mills, to be escorted 
to George-town by the militia under his command. After 
the sick were embarked. Major M^Arthur commenced his 
march. In less than ten days the militia mutinied, and 
securing their own officers and the sick, conducted them 
prisoners to Gen. Gates, in North Carolina. This instance 
of treachery in the east of the Province followed the per- 
fidious conduct of Lieut. -Col. Lisle, on the western border, 
and strongly proved the mistake committed by the British, 
in placing confidence in the inhabitants of the country where 
acting apart from the army. The only probable Avay to 
reap advantage from the levies made in Carolina, would 
have been to incorporate the young men, as they were raised, 
in the established provincial corps, where they could be 
properly trained, and formed under officers of experience. 
By such a line of conduct, all the British regulars would 
have been saved, the king's troops in general would have 
been augmented, and considerable service might have been 
derived from their additional numbers. ^'f It is not sur- 
prising that such free comments on the British movements 
in Carolina, which Tarleton could very well make by the 
light of experience after the war was over, drew down the 
severest strictures upon his work. Such was the result of 
the freedom, altogether proper on the j)art of a historian, 
in which he indulged. It was manifestly a most hazardous 



* « Tarleton," pp. 137, 138. f Ibid., pp. 97, 98. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 319 

step to have entrusted tlie fate of such an expedition to the 
militia of the country, most of .whom were burning with 
long-smothered feelings of revenge. It taught the enemy 
a lessoUj however, which was not afterwards forgotten. In 
his letter of August 6th, already quoted, Lord Cornwallis 
went on further to say : " The wheat harvest in North 
Carolina is now over, but the weather still is excessively 
hot ; and, notwithstanding our utmost exertions, a groat part 
of the rum, salt, clothing, and necessaries for the soldiers, 
and ammunition for the troops, are not very far advanced 
on their way to Camden. However, if no material inter- 
ruption happens, this business will be nearly accomplished 
in a fortnight or three weeks. 

" Our assurances of attachment from our distressed friends 
in North Carolina, are as strong as ever. And the patience 
and fortitude with which these unhappy people bear the 
most oppressive and cruel tyranny that ever was exercised 
over any country, deserve our greatest admiration.^ 
The reader of these latter days, will form his own opinion 
upon the remarks of his lordship in the closing paragraph 
above. That the Loyalists and Tories of North Carolina at 
this time suffered much, there can be no doubty and that 
they deserved to suffer, is quite as certain. But, that they 
groaned under the most oppressive and cruel tyranny ever 
exercised over any country, few now will be prepared to 
admit. But, thus the mortified Commander wrote. 

The allusion made both by Cornwallis and Tarleton to 
the sickness from wdiieh the British suffered while at Cheraw 
was sadly true. Tradition tells how the soldiers, unaccus- 
tomed to a southern climate, sickened and died. And the 
spot is now pointed out, quite a perceptible sink in the 
earth, in front of the parish church of St. David, where many, 
placed, it is said, in one common grave, lie buried. 

The number of sick sent off on the breaking up of the 
post indicates a season of unusual fatality. The return of 
the 71st regiment also on the 15 th of August, the eve of 
the battle of Camden, about three weeks after it left Cheraw, 
told how their ranks had been thinned by death. Of the 



Tarleton," p. 128. 



320 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

1st battalion, the return was, 2 captains, 4 lieutenants, 1 
ensign, 1 adjutant, 1 quarter- master, 1 mate, 14 sergeants, 
6 drummers, 1 14 rank and file. Of the 2nd battalion, 
1 captain, 3 lieutenants, 3 ensigns, 9 sergeants, 94 rank and 
file.* 

Leaving Cheraw, the tide of war turned rapidly towards 
Camden. The accounts given by the British commander at the 
time, and subsequently by Tarleton, of that conflict, of such 
tragic consequence for a season to the American cause, are 
of exceeding interest, and form a thrilling chapter in the 
history of the war in Carolina. 

After the loss sustained by the ravages of M'Arthur's 
plundering party in the neighbourhood of her husband^s 
residence, Mrs. Harrington took refuge with her fi'iends in 
South Carolina. General Harrington was then in camp at 
Cross Creek, and wishing to have her there, an escort was 
sent to conduct her thither, as the following record shows : — 

" State of North Carolina, 

" The Honorable Richard Caswell, Esquire, Major- 
General and Commander-in-Chief of the militia of the said 
State, in service, 

" To the Commanding Officers of his Britannic Majesty^s 
Forces, in South Carolina, and all others whom it may 
concern. 

" These are to certify, that Col. John Donaldson and 
Lieut. Reuben Wilkinson are permitted to proceed with a 
flag of truce to South Carolina, in order to conduct the lady 
of Henry Wm. Harrington, Esquire, and her family to the 
interior parts of this State. All officers, civil and military, 
in this State, and others concerned, are requested to take 
notice thereof, and govern themselves accordingly. 

" Given under my hand and seal, in the camp at the Cross 
Roads, near Deep River, the 21st day of July, 1780. 

" R. Caswell. 

" By his Honoris command, 

" John Sitgreaves, A.D. Camp.'^ 



Tarleton," pp. 137, 138. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS. 321 

Upon his arrival Col. Doualdson probably found the 
enemy breaking up, or already gone. His mission was sue- 
cessfully accomplished.* 

During the struggle on the Pedee Gen. Harrington sent 
a detachment of Whigs to Anson County in charge of a negro. 
He was the property of Michael Crawford, of Anson, had 
been in the service of Col. Donaldson, and was exchanged 
for one of the general's servants. Shortly before they 
reached the river the Whigs were surprised by a party of 
Tories, who lay in ambush ; and upon the first fire were 
dispersed. The negro was taken off by the Tories and lost. 
The Whigs soon rallied, and returned boldly to the conflict. 

The Tories, satisfied with their booty, retreated after a 
brief skirmish. They were pursued, and a riderless horse, 
with a bloody saddle, was captured. Of the Whigs, one 
named Curtis was killed, and Daniel Hicks wounded in the 
thigh, from which, however, he afterwards recovered. After 
the war Crawford brought a suit against Gen. Harrington 
for the negro, but recovered nothing. 

The scattered W^higs kept up an occasional correspondence. 
On the 26th of July, John Lewis Gervais, then at Williams- 
burg, Virginia, wrote to his friend. Gen. Harrington, as 
follows : — 

" Dear Sir, — After a fatiguing journey I have at last 
joined my family here, who have undergone great hardships 
and difficulties. John and Sinclair have both been sick, 
but are better. I have not heard from your quarter since 
I left it, and am anxious to know the fate of our friends 
at Pedee. Mrs. Gervais wishes to hear if the articles she 
sent up in the boat are safe, and begs you to have them 
secured in some safe place till we return. Gov. Rutledge 
I found gone to Philadelphia, and I have not heard from 



* Colonel Dotialdson was accompanied on this occasion by Toney, the body 
servant of General Harrington throughout the war, a negro of remarkable 
character, honest and faithful in the highest degree. He was the father of 
Cuffee, of whom mention has been made. General Harrington purchased him 
from John Mitchell, about 1776. After the Revolution, he was sent by his 
master on horseback from Pedee to Newbern, N. C, with 1500 Spanish silver 
dollars, to pay for a tract of land which General H. had bought. The money 
was delivered in safety. The British had no conception of such devotion in a 
slave. 



322 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

him since. I should be glad to hear from you, and the 
situation of our affairs to the southward, if we have any 
prospect to return soon to Carolina, &c. Mrs. Gervais joins 
me in best regards to you and Mrs. Harrington ; and we 
most sincerely wish to assure you by word of mouth of the 
perfect esteem with which we are 

Your most obliged and most obedient Servants, 

" John Lewis Gervais. 

" Please to direct any letters to the care of Col. Griffin, at 
Williamsburg.^^ 

On the 27th of July Gen. Gates arrived at the Pedee 
from the northward, and on the 4th of August issued a pro- 
clamation, inviting the patriotic citizens of Carolina to 
assemble under his auspices and vindicate the rights of 
America ; holding out an amnesty to all who had subscribed 
paroles imposed upon them by the ruffian hand of conquest ; 
and excepting only those who, in the hour of trial, had 
exercised acts of barbarity and devastation upon the persons 
and property of their fellow-citizens. To this appeal there 
was a general and hearty response. New life was infused 
into the lately desponding patriots, and many came forward 
without delay to join the advancing army. On the 28th of 
July, Major Spence Macay, aide-de-camp of Gen. Rutherford, 
addressed Gen. Harrington as follows : — 

« Camp at Clarke's, July 28, IVSO. 
" Dear General, — Last night Gen. Rutherford received 
a letter from Gen. Caswell, informing him that Gen. Gates 
desired Gen. Caswell, Gen. Rutherford and yourself to meet 
27th instant, at Cox^s Mills, in order to settle a plan of 
future operations to the southward. The general says ' that 
he is happy to acquaint Gen. Caswell that the Virginia 
Militia, with such continental corps of cavalry and infantry 
as Congress have allotted to serve with the Southern Army, 
are in full march, and will speedily join it ; and has also 
the satisfaction to think that the measures taken by the 
Executive Council of Virginia in conjunction with that of 
this State, will shortly relieve our distresses, and put it 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 323 

amply in our power to push the enemy from their advanced 
posts even to Charles-town. 

" Governor Nash has written to Gen. Rutherford, re- 
quiring the attendance of all the members of General 
Assembly at Hillsbrough, on the 20th of August next, and 
especially those who are in the army. The Governor's letter 
is big with caution, the enemy numerous, and much danger 
is to be apprehended from them. 

" I am, dear General, 
'' Your most obedient and humble Servant, 

" Spence Macay. 
" To Brig.-Gen. Harrington, 
" Richmond County. '^ 

Gen. Gates, confident of victory, lost no time in advan- 
cing toward the enemy near Camden. Lord Cornwallis's 
account of preliminary movements and the fortunes of that 
ill-fated day for the American cause, forms an interesting 
link in the chain of events at this period. On the 21st of 
August he wrote from Camden to Lord George Germain : — 

" It is with great pleasure that I communicate to your 
Lordship an account of a complete victory, obtained on the 
16th instant, by his Majesty's troops under my command, 
over the rebel Southern Army, commanded by Gen. Gates. . 
. . On the 9th instant, two expresses arrived with an account 
that Gen. Gates was advancing towards Lynchers Creek, 
with his whole army, supposed to amount to six thousand 
men, exclusive of a detachment of one thousand men under 
Gen. Sumpter ; who, after having in vain attempted to force 
the posts at Rocky Mount and Hanging Rock, was believed 
to be at that time tiying to get round the left of our posi- 
tion, to cut off our communication with the Congarees and 
Charles-town ; that the disaffected country between the Pedee 
and Black Rivers had actually revolted ; and that Lord Raw- 
don was contracting his posts, and preparing to assemble 
his forces at Camden. In consequence of this information, 
after finishing some important points of business at Charles- 
town, I set out on the evening of the 10th, and arrived at 
Camden on the night between the 13th and 14th, and there 

Y 2 



324 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

found Lord Rawdon with all our force^ except Lieut. -Col. 
TurnbulFs small detachment, which fell back from Rocky 
Mount to Major Ferguson's posts of the militia of Ninety- 
six, on Little River. . . . After consulting with some in- 
telligent people, well acquainted with the ground, I deter- 
mined to march at 10 o'clock on the night of the 15th, and 
to attack at daybreak, pointing my principal force against 
their Continentals, who, from good intelligence, I knew to 
be badly posted close to Col. Rugeley's house. Late in the 
evening, I received information that the Virginians had 
joined that day ; however, that having been expected, I did 
not alter my plan, but marched at the hour appointed, 
leaving the defence of Camden to some provincials, militia 
and convalescents, and a detachment of the 63rd regiment, 
which, by being mounted on horses they had pressed on the 
road, it was hoped would arrive in the course of the night. 
I had proceeded nine miles, when, about half an hour past 
two in the morning, my advanced guard fell in with the 
enemy. By the weight of the fire, I was convinced they 
were in considerable force, and was soon assured by some 
deserters and prisoners that it was the whole rebel army on 
its march to attack us at Camden. I immediately halted 
and formed, and the enemy doing the same, the firing soon 
ceased.''"^ 

Tarleton says, " On the 15th, the principal part of the 
King's troops had orders to be in readiness to march ; in 
the afternoon Earl Cornwallis desired Lieut.- Col. Tarleton 
to gain circumstantial intelligence by intercepting a patrol, 
or carrying off some prisoners from an American picket. 
About ten miles from Camden, on the road to Rugeley's 
Mills, the advanced guard of the Legion in the evening 
secured three American soldiers. The prisoners reported 
that they came from Lynche's Creek, where they had been 
left in a convalescent state, and that they were directed to 
join the American array, on the high road, that night, as 
Gen. Gates had given orders for his troops to move from 
Rugeley's Mills to attack the British camp next morning 
near Camden. The information received from these men 



* " Tarleton." pp. 128-131. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CKERAWS. 325 

induced Tarleton to countermai'ch before lie was discovered 
])y any patrol from tlie enemy^s outpost. 

" The three prisoners were mounted behind dragoons, 
and conveyed with speed to the British army. When ex- 
amined by Earl Cornwallis, their story appeared credible^ 
and confirmed all the other intelligence of the day. Orders 
were immediately circulated for the regiments and corps 
designed for a forward move, to stand to their arms. 

" The town, the magazine, the hospital, and the prisoners 
were committed to the care of Major M' Arthur, with a small 
body of provincials and militia, and the weakest convales- 
cents of the army. . . At 10 o^clock the King^s troops moved 
from their ground, and formed their order of march on the 
main road to E-ugeley's Mills. Lieut. -Col. Webster com- 
manded the first di^dsion of the army. . . At 12 o^clock, the 
line of march was somewhat broken in passing Saunders^s 
Creek, five miles from Camden. A short halt remedied this 
inconvenience, and the royal army proceeded in a compact 
state with most profound silence. A little after two, the 
advanced guard of the British charged the head of the Ame- 
rican column ; skirmishing followed ; but, except a few 
occasional shots from the sentries of each army, a silent 
expectation ushered in the morning. At dawn, the two 
commanders proceeded to make their respective arrange- 
ments for action. ^^^ 

Before the close of that eventful day, the American army 
was routed, the unhappy Gates escaped by a hasty flight 
into North Carolina, and general consternation again seized 
the minds of the inhabitants. 

Many of the most devoted Whigs removed their families 
Avith haste to North Carolina and Virginia, returning them- 
selves to the conflict. The Tories were more emboldened 
than ever, and from this time on was waged a sanguinary 
and desperate warfare on the Pedee. From Drowning 
Creek and the Little Pedee, from certain neighbourhoods 
on Lynchers Creek and the parts lower down, marauding 
bauds were ever and anon pouring in on the river settle- 
ments, which were true almost to a man. A spirit of 



" Tarleton," pp. 103-105. 



326 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

unsparing revenge took possession of the Whigs, and many 
a plain from the line of North Carolina above to the upper 
limits of Marion's field of action below, were to be watered 
with blood. 

In the brief entries made in his Journal, the Rev. Mr. 
Pugh doubtless gave expression to feelings which very gene- 
rally prevailed : — 

" Friday, 18th August. Got the news of Gates's defeat ; 
moved to Lide's quarter. 

" Saturday, 19th. About in great trouble. 

" Sunday, 20th. Over the river, moved home my goods. 

" Tuesday, 22nd. Bad news. 

" Sunday, Sept. 3rd. Went to Kolb's ; men met there 
upon a scout after Tories. 

" Saturday, 16th. Had news of the British at Black 
Creek. 

" Sunday, 17th. At home; melancholy day. Am plun- 
dered severely; but, blessed be God, am spared yet. 

"Tuesday, 19th. At home; all day full of trouble. 

"Thursday, 21st. At home; went to Lide's in great 
trouble. 

"Monday, 25th. Went to Mr. Kimbrough's; sorrowful. 

"Wednesday, 27th. At home; British left the Long 
Bluff. 

" Thursday, 28th. At home, after my cattle. 

" Tuesday, 10th Oct. Whigs flying, or retreating from 
here." 

The approach of Gates to Pedee, as already remarked, 
was hailed with delight by every ardent patriot. George 
M^Call and four youthful companions, upon hearing that 
Gates had crossed the Yadkin, started up the river to join 
the army and take part in the expected conflict at Camden. 
They had proceeded but a short distance, when intelli- 
gence reached them that Col. Giles was raising a volunteer 
force below to swell the columns of the American com- 
mander. Hastening back, they found the colonel with his 
party at Giles's Bluffs, some distance below on the Pedee. 
They remained in that locality two weeks or more, and were 
joined during the time by Colonel Marion with an addi- 
tional force. Having collected a few old field-pieces, Marion 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 327 

crossed the river and commenced a redoubt. While en- 
gaged upon this work^ where a temporary stand was in- 
tended to be made, the news reached them of Gates's defeat. 
As a consequence, the plan of operations previously agreed 
upon was broken up; and the brilliant career in which he 
was to become so distinguished as a partisan leader, already 
successfully commenced, now opened in larger outline and 
bloodier prospect upon Marion. With the force hastily col- 
lected and now under his command, a few sallies were made 
against the Tories in Williamsburg and the region east of 
the Pedee. Col. Giles received orders to march with such 
a volunteer force as would accompany him, to Long Bluff, 
there to join Col. Kolb, for a retreat into North Carolina, 
or any other movement which the course of events might 
determine. The result was, that Col. Kolb remained in the 
neighbourhood of Long Bluff, for the protection of the lives 
and property of the inhabitants there against the Tories. 
Young M'Call, who met Col. Marion for the first time on 
the occasion alluded to, was so deeply impressed with his 
superior military sagacity, that he determined to join his 
command, and share the fortunes of the future with him to 
the close of the war. Col. Hicks had gone with his family 
to Virginia, leaving the active command of the forces on the 
Pedee to Lieut.-Col. Kolb, a position which the latter ap- 
pears to have retained until his death, in the early part of 
the following spring. 

The depredations by the Tories were secretly committed, 
except in those cases where they had the advantage of over- 
powering numbers, or the Whigs were absent from their 
homes. 

Samuel Bacot was one of many sufferers, though some- 
times eluding the enemy, or sharing wdth others the benefit 
of their cowardly fears. On one occasion, a party of Tories 
were seen approaching his house. He seized a well-charged 
musket, and, giving a few hasty du'cctions, was in the act of 
escaping, when the distress of a favorite child detained 
him for a moment, and until the enemy were dismounting ; 
a little more, and it would have been too late. He succeeded 
however, in reaching a thick covert in the rear of the dwel- 
ling in safety. His directions were observed by the family, 



328 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

and as the Tories entered and were about to make search^ 
the loud report of a musket was heard, and the clatter of 
shot against the walls and door facings as they came through 
the open passage from the rear, confirmed the impression of 
a murderous surprise. A panic followed, and the cowardly- 
wretches ran for their lives, leaving even their horses 
behind them, to the amusement and relief of the family. 

On another occasion, Mr. Bacot was taken prisoner and 
carried to Camden, where he suffered much from a cruel 
confinement. About thirty others w.ere at the same time 
imprisoned, and it was determined to send them all to 
Charles-town, for safe keeping, in charge of a detachment 
double their own number. His companions were known to 
Mr. Bacot, and a few of them as determined spirits on 
whom he could rely in effecting an escape by the way. 

To these his plans were communicated soon after the 
march commenced. They were to take advantage of any 
favorable circumstance which might occur, for effecting 
their liberation. A long and wearisome day passed away, 
the party halting in the evening near a deserted log house 
by the road side, which was to be occupied during the night. 
The arms were stacked in front, near the steps. There were 
two apartments, separated by a thin partition. In the one 
which opened on the piazza, the guard took lodging, placing 
the prisoners in the other, with which they communicated 
by a doer. From the latter room, a window opened upon 
the road. 

The weary captives had now a better opportunity for 
consulting together, and it was soon determined to carry 
their plans into execution, " Saturday night " was agreed 
upon as the watchword and signal for action. To take pos- 
session of the guns, when the main body were asleep, was a 
matter of the first importance. About midnight, Mr. Bacot 
tapped at the door, and upon its being opened, begged the 
captain for a drink of brandy, a ready excuse being given 
for the request at so unseasonable an hour. He perceived 
at a glance that the moment for action had come ; and 
taking the glass which was handed him, said, as he raised it, 
with emphasis on the last words, " Here is success to 
Saturday night," and dashed the liquor in the officer's face. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 329 

As the words were uttered, his eager and impatient com- 
rades riished out, and seizing the arms, were opposed by the 
nearest sentinel, who was speedily overpowered. The rest 
of the prisoners, not understanding the cause of the confu- 
sion, and thinking it a suitable time for escape, began to leap 
out of the window. The whole guard being roused, their 
surrender was peremptorily demanded, and so sudden and 
complete was the surprise, that they yielded at once. They 
were then paroled and dismissed ; and the captives, once 
more at liberty, lost no time in finding their way home- 
ward."^ 

Elias DuBose, on Lynchers Creek, had many adventures 
with the Tories. On one occasion, before the removal of 
his family to Virginia, he had returned from the camp on 
furlough. The Tories, being apprised of his movements^ 
approached his house in the dead of night, and demanded 
admittance. Well knowing their designs, Mr. DuBose pre- 
sented himself, gun in hand, with a heroic wife by his side, 
also armed, and refused them admittance, threatening to 
shoot the first man who made the attempt to enter, and 
adding that he would sell his life as dearly as possible. They 
then threatened to burn them, and made preparation to 
carry the threat into execution. In this desperate emer- 
gency, no alternative was left but a compromise ; the 
dauntless "Whig proposing to surrender, on condition that 
they would not tie or confine him, but that he should be 
carried to old Mr. "Wilson, a neighbouring magistrate and 
friend of the King, who resided on the opposite side of the 
creek, and by whose sentence he consented to abide. 

Supper was then provided for them. Upon arriving at 
Mr. "Wilson^s, and submitting the case to him, he said such 
a neighbour should not be injured, and told his friend Du 
Bose to go at large ; upon which he returned to his family 
the same night. 

The warfare with the Tories extended up into the neigh- 
bouring counties of North Carolina. 

Some time after Gates's defeat, Mrs. Harrington had an 
adventure with a band of marauders, some of the conse- 

* In an account of this incident given in Johnson's " Traditions of the Re- 
volution," the name of Peter incorrectly appears, instead of Samuel Bacot. 



330 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

queuces of which she had reasou to deplore to the end of 
her life. The general, then absent on duty, had sent an 
UT^nt message to her to take the negroes and such other 
moveable property as eonld be transported, and start imme- 
diately for Maryland. She did so with all possible expedi- 
tion ; and bidding adieu to home, had proceeded as far as 
Mountain Creek, in Richmond County, when she was met 
by Captain John Leggett, a noted Tory, of Bladen County, 
near the line of Robeson, with his party. They at once 
began their work of plunder, destroying such of the pro- 
perty as they coidd not take with them. Some of the negroes 
made their escape, and remained under cover until all 
danger was past. 

The books, and a valuable Kbrary which Greneral Harring- 
ton was particularly aniious to preserve, were scattered 
along the road, and not a few, with mauy valuable papers, 
were lost or destroyed. The horses were all taken. Fearing a 
pursuit, the Tories soon took to flight. One of them, named 
M'Koy. received a young negro man as his share of the 
spoils, and fled by way of the Grassy Islands. In crossing 
the river at that point, the horse stumbled, throwing the 
negro oft\ who was drowned. After the war, judgment was 
obtained agtunst this man, but nothing recovered. Mrs. 
Harrington made her way back as well as she coidd to her 
father. Major James Auld, in Anson County. Her brothers, 
John and Michael Aidd, started with a company in pursuit 
of the Tories, but did not overtake them or succeed in 
getting any of the property back.* Some time before the 
march of General Gates to the South, General Harrington 
had his head-quarters at Cross Creek. The object of his 
position there was to keep the Tories in awe, and protect 
the public stores, collected and sent forward from time to 
time. On the advance of Gates to Camden, he scmiraoned 



* After the war, Gsneral Harrington brocght 5mt aguinst Leggett, and 
obtained judgment. Leggett, in the meantime, had transferred his lands to 
another to prevent their being taken. ITjion its becoming knowrn, they es- 
cheated to the State. An Ace was afterwards passed by the Leg^attire of X. 
C. giving General H. title to these knv.!s. Upon going to Bladeii, he foond two 
daughters of Leggett, and gave them deeds tor their homestead. Leggett, 
with others, had escaped to Nova Scotia, bnk had uow retoraed. General H. 
received vi^ little in the end — bat a tev Inadied doBus for van or two tracts 
of land. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 331 

General Harrington from Cross Creek with all despatch to 
his assistance. The latter immediately took up the line of 
march ; but, upon arriving at Haley^s Ferry, on the Pedee, 
received intelligence of the disastrous defeat and general 
dispersion of the American forces. His head-quarters for a 
time were in this neighbourhood. 

On the 18th of August, Colonel Nicholas, of the Virginia 
Militia, wrote to General Harrington as follows : — 

"Mark's Ferry,* Aug. 18th, 1780. 

" Sir,— As I command at this point, I took the liberty 
of opening your letter to General Stevens. My orders from 
Colonel Harrison were to stay and command this pass, in 
order to enable the stragglers of our army to cross the river ; 
and I doubt not, on your considering the necessity of rally- 
ing our men, who generally seem to pass this way, and 
which would be rendered entirely ineffectual by giving up 
the ferry to the command of the disaffected people, you will 
render me all the assistance you can, both by giving me 
advice and falling on some plan for the safety of the troops 
here and at Colons Bridge, the former consisting of about 
300 men badly armed. Colonel Harrison directed me to 
march on for Hillsborough as soon as I supposed the men 
had all passed that were likely to come this way. 

" P.S. I just saw a letter from General Caswell to Colonel 
Seawell, which I have forwarded to him, and which will put 
it out of his power to act with me, I expect. 
" Sii', I am, with respect, 

'' Your most obedient servant, 

"J. Nicholas, 
" Lieut.-Col. V. Militia. 

" Brig.-Gencral Harrington, on Pedee.'^ 

On the 10th of September Gen. Gates, now on his re- 
treat through North Carolina, wrote to Gen. Harrington. 

'•' Hillsborough, 11 in the forenoon, 10th Septr., 1780. 

" Dear Sir, — This momen\; I received your letter, dated 
the 6th inst!, 8 p.m., from CrOss Creek. I am much pleased 



* Mark'? Perry was fifty miles above Cheraw. 



332 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

with the good news it contains, and hope it will prove true ^ 
in the mean time it is our duty, by every means, to know 
with certainty if the fleet of our allies is_, or is not, upon 
this coast. I desire you will immediately do every thing in 
your power to satisfy me in that particular. Such necessary 
and unavoidable expense as is incurred in procuring this 
intelligence, I will cheerfully pay. 
" I am, dear sir, 

" Your affectionate, humble Servant, 

" Horatio Gates. 
" Brigadier-General Harrington. 

" P.S. — Continue your spies toward Camden and dow^n 
Pedee." 

The enemy were now much emboldened, and renewed 
their plundering expeditions, as they had done after the fall 
of Charles-town, in the spring and early part of the summer. 
Again Major Wemys made his presence felt in the country 
above George-town. The South Carolina atid American 
General Gazette of September 20th, contained an extract of 
a letter from that place of the 16th, saying : " Maj<n' Wemys 
has been scouring the country to the northward of this. 
Several of the inhabitants who, after giving their paroles, 
joined ]\Iarion and Horry in their late incursion, have gone 
off with them. Some of their houses, &c., ha^ e been des- 
troyed in terrorem. The persons of others, equally culpable, 
are secured, as they have, by their recent base conduct, 
shown themselves unworthy of being allowed to go at large.^' 

Soon after this, the Board of War of North Carolina ad- 
dressed to Gen. Harrington the following communication: — 

"Hillsborough, Octr. 1st, 1780. 

" Sir, — Gen. Gates will give you directions how you are 
to conduct yom-self in your military operations. As he 
understands that business much better than I do, you will 
obey his orders. There are a number of militia at Col. 
Scamlock's, in Chatham, left by Gen. Sumner, many of 
them unable to do duty. I have written to the colonel to 
send all that appear able to go to you, to Cross Creek, as 
they may act as a guard — those that are unwell, to be dis- 
charged, as they are only an incumbrance. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS. 333 

*^ You will give sucli orders relative to any that joiii you 
as you tliiuk proper. 

" I am, your obedient servant, 

" J. Penn." 
Gen. Gates also wrute on the same day : " As the enemy 
are advancing by the route of Salisbury, I recommend it to 
you, to collect your force immediately at Cross Creek, and be 
prepared to march by Chatham Court House the moment 
you receive orders.'^ 

By order of the Governor of North Carolina, Col. Thomas 
Brown, of that State, had marched to Pedee, and soon after 
his arrival wrote to General Harrington, informing him of 
his movements. 

" Camp at the Beauty Spot, 10th Octr., 1780. 

" Dear Sir, — I have, agreeably to your order, marched as 
far as this place, eiglit miles below Hick^s Mills; but meet- 
ing with a letter here, informing me of your retreat back 
to Cross Creek, I conclude to proceed no farther ; but shall, 
as directed by his Excellency, Gov. Nash, drive off all the 
beef cattle that I can possibly collect. I have received no 
orders from you since the 3rd inst., which, together with 
your unexpected retreat,"^ has left me so much in the dark 
how to act, as to determine me as above. The inhabitants 
about this place seem perfectly still, except about ninety, 
who are said to be collected at Spike^s Mill, on Jeffrey's 
Creek ; but we learn there is a party gone out this day in 
order to dislodge them, under the command of Capt. Delany. 
Captains Murphy and Council, with their companies, are 
ranging up and down this river in order to keep the Tories 
in awe. I hope shortly to hear from you ; and am, 
" Dear sir, with much respect, 

" Your most obedient, humble Servant, 

" Thos. Brown. 

" P.S. — Since I concluded I have been lucky enough to 
meet with the person who furnishes the following deposition. 
He is a son-in-law to Capt. Henry Council, and is said to 
have been compelled into the British service, and has re- 
turned home in consequence of Ford's orders. 'Tis confi- 



* The unexpected retreat here lelerved to, was from Halej's Ferry, ou I'edee, 
to Cross Creek. 



334 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

dently asserted by a person lately from Georgia, that six 
thousand French are lauded there, and have taken Suus- 
bury. We further learn that the Tories about Little Pedee 
are summoned to meet on Thursday next, by one Jesse 
Barfield. I shall endeavor to watch their motions, and if 
possible, disperse them. 

" I am, as before, yours, &c., 

'' T. B. 
" To Brig.- Gen. Harrington, 

'' at or near Cross Creek. ^' 

It appears from this letter, that the Whigs on Pedee were 
now rendering effective service against the Tories. This 
conflict was fiercely waged, and only to close with the ter- 
mination of the war. 

On the 11th of October, General Gates wrote to General 
Harrington as to a change of position. 

" Hillsborough, Octr. 11, 1780. 

" Dear Sir, — Last night I received your letter from 
Cross Creek, dated the 6th instant. Colonel Kolb was 
then here. He is of opinion that you might securely take 
post with your brigade upon the Pedee, opposite the Cheraws; 
to this, if it meets with your approbation, I have not the 
smallest objection. On the contrary, I recommend to you 
to do it immediately. I desire you will acquaint Colonels 
Marion and Giles with your intentions, and recommend it 
to them to make diversions against the enemy^s posts below. 
It is not improbable but you may, soon after your arrival 
upon Pedee, hear something from General Sumpter. You 
may, thereupon, with proper caution being taken, corre- 
spond and co-oj)erate with him. But this information must 
be kept a profound secret to every one but yourself. 

" I am, Sir, 
" Your affectionate, humble Servant, 

" Horatio Gates. 

" Brigadier-General Harrington, 
" near Cross Creek. ^"^ 

On the day this letter was written. Colonel Martin, in 
behalf of the Board of War of N.C., addressed General 
Harrington on the same subject. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 335 

It was a matter of great importance to the inhabitants 
on the Pedee. 

" War Office, Hillsborough, Octr. 11th, 1780. 
" Sir, — General Gates^s orders for your retreat from the 
Pedee were unknown to the Board of War until your arrival 
at Cross Creek ; a post so essential to be kept up for the 
support of this State^ and protection of our neighbouring 
friends in South Carolina, that the Legislature had this ob- 
ject particularly in view, 

" On the remonstrance of the Board, General Gates has 
countermanded your orders, which you will receive with 
this. As Mark's Ferry seems rather too high up the river 
for the purposes intended, you will therefore please to exer- 
cise your own discretion as to your main post on the Pedee, 
so that it be not far above or below the boundary, and your 
particular detachments. The army stand in great need of 
provisions, particularly cattle. 

" Colonel Brown hath a particular command from the 
Governor, by direction of the Assembly, to collect all the 
cattle on or near Pedee, so as not to distress private families 
or indi\dduals^ and have them driven into ihp interior parts 
of this State. You, Sir, will have the superintendence of 
Colonel Brown and all other officers serving in your quar- 
ter, to direct their particular movements, and detachments 
to join you or otherwise. 

" Other officers and men from you may be employed in 
the like service, which is so importunate and pressing at 
this juncture. 

" Mr. Amis is directed to attend and receive the cattle, 
and have them driven to this post. You have a hint dropped 
you from General Gates, which perhaps may shortly be car- 
ried into execution. 

" General Small wood has accepted the command of our 
militia, with whom you will please to correspond. He, with 
Colonel Morgan, has marched for Salisbury. 
" I am, with respect, 
" Your most obedient, humble Servant, 

" Alexander Martin. 
" Brigadier- General Harrington, 
" Cross Creek." 



336 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEIlAWS. 

The movements of the British were at this juuoture a 
subject of much uncertainty with the American commanders. 
As a consequence, counter-orders were constantly being 
given. Soon, however, this state of things was to pass 
away, and the plans of the enemy to be more clearly de- 
veloped. About the latter part of October, General Har- 
rington reached the Pedee with his command, and took 
post at Haley's Ferry, but soon removed to a point on the 
river, immediately opposite Chcraw. He was kept in con- 
stant connnunicatiou with the Board of War of North 
Carolina, as well as with the commanders of the South 
Carolina forces lower dowu the Pedee. General Small- 
wood addressed him soon after. 

"Camp New Providence, 31st Oetr., 17S0. 

" Sir, — Since my acceptance of the command of the 
militia, I have not had an opportunity of writing you, and 
am still at a loss to know your position, or where to direct 
for yon. I am apprehensive the particular quarters to 
which our militaiy operations have been confined, have 
jointly obstruQl;ed this, as the intermediate country has been 
in possession of the enemy. 

" It is necessary I should know your strength, resources, 
and views, before I could Mith propriety point out any par- 
ticular mode to govern your conduct, or regulate it viuder 
the general scale or system to be adopted in our future 
operations. I have taken this opportunity, therefore, by 
Colonel Davie (who is ordered for particular purposes to 
that part of the Tory country lying between us), to write 
you, to be transmitted, if necessary, by a few horsemen, 
upon whose return you 'will be so obliging as to favor me 
with the necessary information above required. 

" The British, two days ago, were encamped at or near 
Lee's Mill, said to be fifteen or twenty miles below the 
eross roads from that place. Roads lead to the westward 
— Congarce, Charles-town, and Camden — so that no just 
conclusion can be drawn of their next movement or 
views. 

" Our strength is so smnll here, and without artillery, 
that nothing can be attempted against them, especially as 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 337 

we should have a river in our rear, and our supplies princi- 
pally to be dravi^n from this side ; but I shortly expect 
General Gates on with the concentrated troops, when per- 
haps something may be effected. We have just received 
advices from Governor Jefferson, of the arrival of a large 
fleet of the enemy within the Capes of Virginia, that they 
were debarking on the 22nd instant ; but he does not men- 
tion their number, or where they were landing, though, I 
imagine, at Portsmouth, and the number to be the same 
lately embarked at New York, and recently destined against 
West Point ; but the capture of Andre, the British Adju- 
tant-General, who acted as a spy, and the discovery of 
Arnold^s treachery, changes their course for Virginia. 

" You have no doubt heard of Arnold's perfidy, and the 
deep plot laid by him and Andre of trepanning our excellent 
Commander-in-Chief, and betraying the forts at West 
Point, with 4000 men. 

" The conquerors of Ferguson and his party I expected 
to join me here, but they have generally dispersed. 
" I am, very respectfully, 

" Sir, your obt. humble Servant, 

" W. Smallwood, Secretary. 

" Gen. Harrington." 

Colonel Brown was still on the Pedee, rendering effective 

service against the Tories. He wrote again to the general, 

from 

" Camp, Bear Swamp, Novr. 4tb, 1780. 

" Dear Sir, 

" I received your favor of the 26th 
of October, dated near Haley's Ferry. It gives me plea- 
sure to hear you have marched to a part of the country that 
so much wanted your assistance ; and I can assure you, I 
have been ever since I received your first orders, upon the 
march after those scoundrels, and can inform you the report 
concerning Capt. Moore is partly false, as he did not lose 
one man, and but one slightly wounded. But Barfield did 
surprise him and took several of his horses ; but I have paid 
them tolerably well for it. I have killed Miles Barfield, 
wounded two others of the Barfields ; and, it is said, Jessie 

z 



838 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Barfield is shot thnnigh the hand, but the oertaiutv I cannot 
tell. I have got four more of the Barfields well ironed 
and iiuder guard, whom I am rery choice of. You men- 
tioned YOU would be glad to know how I came on in collect- 
ing cattle. I have girt 25i> head and sent them to Head- 
quarters, aud have just got to collecting agttin, as Barfield 
hath prevented me for a fortnight past. I hope tou will 
write to me by every opportunity, and I will not fail. 
" And am. Sir, with respect, 

" Your himible Servant. 

" Thos Browx. 

" Greneral Harrington, near Haley's Ferry .^' 

The family of Barfield, to several of whom Col. Brown's 
letter refers, lived on Little Pedee, and had now become 
notorious. 

The history of their leader. Major Barfield, the most 
prominent among them, was one. unhappily for them- 
selves and the country, not \mfrequeut in the days that 
tried men's soids ; furnishing a sad illustration of the fact, 
how tri^-ial causes are permitted to lead to a decisive and 
fetal change in the conduct of life. Majoy Barfield is said 
to have been a captain in the American service at the first 
siege of Charles-town. Some indignity was ofiered him by 
a superior officer, and he appealed for redress to the general 
in command. 

It was not granted : and becoming morbidly affected, he 
toc^ revenge by deserting the cause of his country, carry- 
ing a niunber with him, and proving himself ever after, a 
bitter and relentless foe. He was possessed of superior 
abilities, with a commanding person and respectable fortune, 
and became the acknowledged leader of the disaffected in- 
habitants between Great and Little Pedee. 

IHiring the course of the war, he took refuge on some 
occasion in the British camp, was seized with the small- 
pox aud died. The predatory warfare between the ^Vhigs 
and Tories was actively carrievl on in the adjoining parts of 
North Carolina. 

The following letter of Colonel Pavison to General 
Harrington refers to the subject. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 339 

" On Brown Creek, near Lanier, 6th Novr., 1780. 

"Dear General^ 

"■ I proceeded according to your 
orders^ and on Brown Creek we took a grand Tory by the 
name of Thomas Blake. I put him under a guard and 
sent him off to James Boggin^s ; but before they got there, 
the prisoner endeavoxired to make his escape. The guard 
fired at him and killed him. 

'^ Horses are very scarce in this quarter. I have collected 
a few very good beef cattle, and put them in my own field 
about three miles from where the river road crosses Brown 
Creek. I think I can gather a good many beef cattle in 
this country, by the information I have. John May came 
in to me, and promised to be of all the service he can to 
his country ; and, indeed, he has been very useful to me 
since I have been in these parts ; but, as I heard you men- 
tion something about him in your camp, I have ordered 
him down to you. 

'' Dennis M'Clendon was taken yesterday morning and 
brought to me by Major Miller, &c. By the best authority, 
the old man intended to come in as soon as he could find 
some of his own county oflficers. We have several Tories 
laying out yet, though I think all will come in except those 
who have gone to the British. 

" Our general muster is on Thursday next, at May's 
Mill. And then the militia of this county is to be stationed 
at Lanier^s plantation on Brown Creek ; and then we will 
proceed immediately to gather all the beef cattle in these 
parts, except you order otherwise. 

" The bearer hereof waits on you for your orders. Please 
to send me some salt if possible. I have sent Dennis 
M'Lendon and Stephen Murphy under a guard, in the 
care of Lieut. Colter. I have no news worth writing to 
you. I am just setting off to the head of Brown Creek 
and Lane Creek, and shall not be back until the muster. 
"^ I am, dear General, 

" Your most obt. Servant, 

" Geo. Davison. 

" N.B. — I beg to be excused for not writing to you 
sooner/' 

z 2 



340 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

On the Pedee occasional reverses were experienced, but 
not of very serious consequence. Barfield was roaming 
through the country, plundering and killing as opportunity 
offered, though forced to be cautious in his movements. 
Col. Brown continues the narrative : — 

" Camp near Caird's Mill, the 9th of Novr., 1780. 

" Dear Sir, 

" I this evening received yours, dated 
this day, near Charraw Ferry, with the disagreeable news of 
Capt. Murphy's defeat, and highly approve of your plan, 
and will do everything in my power to put it in execution, 
as it is a most dreadful affair that such a set of scoundrels 
should be allowed to exist upon earth. I have 162 men, of 
whom I have about 45 horse, fit for duty. I expect to be 
to-morrow at Caird's Mill ; and would recommend it to the 
officers commanding your posts, to meet me on Sunday at 
Jonathan Miller's, as Barfield resorts near that place. 
Your troops can cross Little Pedee at Gibson's, and then 
there is a direct road to Miller's. Yesterday, Barfield fell 
in with 5 of your men that left your camp on Monday, by 
the names of Robert Vernon, Matthew White, Theophilus 
Eavens, — Hadley (the other name I cannot tell), and kept 
them till about midnight, and then took all their horses and 
arms, paroled them and let them go. 

"^ I would recommend it to you to send a formidable 
troop of horse, as Barfield can raise 70 or 80 horse himself, 
and is determined to prevent any cattle being collected 
amongst them ; and, I imagine, there might be two or three 
hundred head of good cattle got, if they could be once 
broken up. 

" Barfield attacked my regiment last Monday week, at 
night ; but they did us no damage, only slightly wounded 
two men. I wrote to you a few days ago by Cross Creek, 
and hope to hear from you by every opportunity. And am. 
Sir, with respect, 

" Your humble Servant, 

" Thos. Brown, C.T.T." 

Cautious and rapid in their movements, approaching by 
stealth and generally under cover of darkness, it was difli- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 341 

cult for the Whigs to capture the marauding parties of 
Tories. Under Barfield, the orgauization was effective and 
formidable. 

The South Carolina Gazette and American Journal, 
Charles-town, of Nov. 15th, contained the following intelli- 
gence : — " We are authorized to inform the public that 
about 200 of the inhabitants near Pedee River, over whom 
Mr. Marion and his associates for some time past have ex- 
ercised the most despotic and cruel tyranny, lately collected 
together in arms, and fell in with a gang of banditti, whom 
they routed and entirely dispersed. The leader of the rebels, 
a Col. Murphy, was amongst the killed. 

" A few days since, the victorious Loyalists joined the 
King's forces posted at George-town. The accounts from 
that part of the country represent the people eagerly dis- 
posed to contribute their assistance towards preventing any 
future inroads of the rebels. '^ 

Fortunately for his country, the report of Col. Murphy's 
death was false. He survived this and many other bloody 
conflicts, to see both foreign and domestic foes subdued. 
" Mr. Marion,^' so contemptuously alluded to, had already 
become a terror to the enemy, and was yet to see many a 
proud officer, with once victorious soldiers, suppliants before 
him. 

Gen. Smallwood continued to write, giving an interesting 
account of the general progress of events. 

" Camp, November 15th, 1780. 

" Sir, — I received your two favors of the 28th October 
and 5th inst., some time after I wrote you on the 31st 
ultimo. They were delivered by some militia from Gen. 
Butler's camp, and had been delayed on the road. The 
expresses you sent never came fiu'ther than Salisbury, which 
prevented my writing as I could have wished. 

" I must request you in future to direct the expresses to 
deliver their despatches in person, that they may be im- 
mediately answered on their return ; but I hope our com- 
munication shortly maj'^ be opened upon a more direct route 
through Lynche's Creek. 

" I daily expect the arrival of General Gates with the 



342 HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 

Continental troops, when our strength will enable us to ad- 
vance lower down, and it then may be necessary for you to 
advance across the country, to co-oporate with us ; and, in 
the interim, as I am unacquainted with the country, I could 
wish you would point out, or give your opinion upon the 
propriety of taking a position somewliere upon Black River, 
or Lynchers Creek. If such a position could be taken with 
security, it would have a happy tendency in several respects, 
particularly in facilitating some plans in view — tlie suppres- 
sion of the Tories, and securing supplies^ which are much 
exhausted in this quarter. You will also be so obliging as 
to favor me with returns of your strength, resources, and 
views, as I requested in my last. We now draw supplies 
of forage and provision from the upper part of Lynchers 
Creek, and the Tory part of tlie Waxsaw settlement ; and I 
am now extending my views lower down in these quarters 
and across the Catawbas. 

"LordCornwallis remains at Wynsborough inactive, Tarle- 
ton below on the Sautee, wasting and destroying all before 
him, which indicates an evacuation of Camden. This place, 
I think, might have been reduced ere tliis, and Turleton 
circumscribed in his depredations, had the Continental troops 
been forwarded ; but in our present weak state, Lord Coru- 
wallis has taken so judicious a position, either to cut off our 
retreat or aid his parties, that these enterprises could not 
be risked. 

" I think something may shortly be effected, unless the 
enemy should be reinforced, which I really am apprehensive 
of, and that the arrival of the French fleet you mention in 
yours of the 5th inst. is premature. I wisli they may not 
prove to be British, with a reinforcement, and the firing, 
salutes or signal guns, as we have no intelligence of a 
French fleet from the latest accounts from the northward ; 
but 1 am informed of a late embarkation from New York, 
conjectured to be destined to Charles-town ; and also that 
some part of the fleet and forces from Portsmouth had sailed 
for that place. 

" Sumpter has lately defeated a party of two hundred Bri- 
tish cavalry and infantry mounted, and a small number of 
Tories, who attacked him at Fish Dam Ford, at 3 o^clock on 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 343 

the morning of the 9th instant. The commanding officer, 
Major Wemys, a surgeon, and sergeant-major^ were taken 
wounded, with upwards of twenty more prisoners, some valu- 
able horses and arms. Seven were killed and more wounded, 
who were carried off. Sumpter^s loss was only four killed 
and two wounded. 

" I am, with very great regard and esteem, 

" Sir, your obedient, humble Servant, 

W. Smallwood. 
'^ Brigadier-General Harrington, 
Kershaw "Ferry. ""^ 

For several months past^ Marionf had been actively en- 
gaged with the enemy in the parts below, and shortly before 
this, made an unsuccessful attempt upon George-town. He 
gave the following account of it to Gen. Harrington. 

" Blackmingo, l7th Novr., 1780. 

" Sir, 

" Since my last to you, Colonel Tarleton retreated 
to Camden, after destroying all the houses and provisions in 
his way. By information, I was made to believe there was 
but fifty British in George-town, and no militia, which in- 
duced me to attempt taking that place. But, unluckily, 
the day before I got there they received a reinforcement of 
two hundred Tories under Captains Barfield and Lewis from 
Pedee. The next day the Tories came out and we scummaged 
with them. 

" Part I cut off from the town, and drove the rest in, 
except the two men killed, and twelve taken prisoners. Our 
loss was Lieutenant Gabriel Marion, and one private killed. 
These two men were killed after they surrendered. We had 
three or four wounded, one since dead of his wound. 

" Captain Barfield was wounded in his head and body, but 
got off. Captain James Lewis, Commonly called ' Otter Skin 
Lewis,^ was one killed. I stayed two days within three 



* Kershaw Ferry was that at Cheraw, so called then, 
•f Marion is supposed to have been at this time a colonel, though previously 
called general. In August, he was commissioned by Governor Rutlodge to 
take command of the post at Lynche's Creek, but not appointed general until 
some time after that, as James says in his " Sketch," p. 46 (note). 



344 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

miles of tlie town^ in which time most of the Tories left 
their friends and went home. 

" Finding the regulars in the town to be eighty men, 
besides militiaj strongly entrenched in a redoubt, with 
swivels and cohorns on their parapet, I withdrew my men, 
as I had not six rounds per man, and shall not be able to 
proceed on any operations without a supply of ammunition, 
which I will be obliged to you to furnish me with by Captain 
Potts, who commands a detachment to guard the prisoners 
taken. I have not heard anything from General Gates 
since the letter you sent me. 

" A man from the high hills of Santee, within eight miles 
of Camden, says that Washington^'s Horse is at Rugely^s 
Mill, one mile from there. I beg to know where our army 
is, and what news from them. 

" I am, with esteem, your most obedient Servant, 

" Feancis Marion. 

" Hon. Brig.-General Harrington, Pedee.^'' 

Colonel Kolb was now in command in the neighbourhood 
of Long Bluff, and the acknowledged leader on the Upper 
Pedee. 

In reply to a call from General Harrington, he made the 
following return of his force : — 

" To Brig.-Gen. Harrington. 
" Dear Sir, 

" You last wrote that you wanted 
to see me, with a return of my regiment this day in camp. 
I should be happy in waiting on you at any time after to- 
day. I think to ride up to-morrow, if I should not be sick. 
" Sir, you wanted to ascertain the number of men I had 
in the regiment. 

" Agreeably to my returns, I have but 233 men, besides 
officers. I shall send you the part of my regiment you 
require to-morrow, or next day. I shall have them marched 
up under command of some one captain. 

" I am. Sir, your most humble Servant, 

" Abel Kolb. 

" 27th of Novr., 1780." 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 345 

The number here returned was small indeed, having 
doubtless been much reduced by disease aud the sword. The 
exposure and privation endured in the kind of warfare now 
carried on must have been very great, wasting away im- 
perceptibly what was not at once destroyed. 

The spirit of revolt on the Pedee gave much concern to 
the enemy, particularly in connexion with the holding their 
post at Camden. On the 3rd of December, Lord Cornwallis, 
from his camp at Wynsborough, wrote to Sir H. Clinton on 
the subject. He said : — " Colonel Marion had so wrought 
on the minds of the people, partly by the terror of his 
threats and cruelty of his punishments, and partly by the 
promise of plunder, that there was scarcely an inhabitant 
between the Santee and Pedee that was not in arms against 
us. Some parties had even crossed the Santee, and carried 
terror to the gates of Charles-town. My first object was to 
reinstate matters in that quarter, without which Camden 
could receive no supplies. 

'' I therefore sent Tarleton, who pursued Marion for 
several days, obliged his corps to take to the swamps, and 
by convincing the inhabitants that there was a power superior 
to Marion, who could likewise reward and punish, so far 
checked the insurrection that the greatest part of them have 
not dared to appear in arms against us since his expe- 
dition.''* 

Notwithstanding the tone of this communication, Corn- 
wallis had sad forebodings of the future that awaited him, as 
his correspondence shows. He was much deceived in the 
opinion, if in reality it was entertained, that the patriots 
were convinced of a power superior to Marion. The British 
had exercised so much oppression and rapacity over all those 
who would not join them, and so much insolence over those 
who did, that the people of Carolina found there was no 
alternative between a state of downright vassalage on the 
one hand, and of unyielding warfare on the other. The 
men of principle already had done so, or were prepared to 
take up arms ; and in general, only the unprincipled remained 
with the enemy in expectation of plunder, or from motives 



* " Tarletou," p. 200. 



346 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

of fear. They had now learned^ besides^ that the country 
might be overrun with more facility than kept in subjection 
by the necessarily divided forces of the enemy, and that a 
partisan warfare, such as Marion had now begun, was the 
best that could be carried on against a foe superior in force 
and discipline to themselves.^ 

In common with the inhabitants of other parts of the 
State, the Whigs of Pedee had been made to contribute 
their faithful slaves to the working force of the enemy. 
Among the returns of negroes in the different departments, 
were the following in the published records of the day : — 
" Novr. 1780. t Negroes in the engineer department, that 
joined the army since the landing under Sir H. Clinton, in 
1780. 

" Sam, taken from Colonel Hart 
Dick, „ „ „ Kolb 

James, „ „ „ „ 

Simon, „ „ „ „ 

Pompey, „ „ „ „ 

'' In Barrack Master^s department : — 

" Abraham, taken from Colonel Kolb, 
Jupiter, „ „ General Harrington.^^ 

On the 18th of November, the Pedee country and the 
State at large sustained a heavy loss in the death of Gen. 
Alexander M'Intosh.J 

In every relation of life, this patriotic and honored 
citizen had ever maintained the most exemplary character. 
A member of the Provincial Congress and one of the Com- 
mittee of Observation for St. David^s Parish ; a representa- 
tive successively, and the first senator elected, for St. David^s ; 
the President of St. David^s Society from its organization ; 
appointed first Major, then Lieut. -Colonel in the Provincial 
service, afterwards Brigadier- General of Militia, and member 
of the Legislative Council, as first established — it was his 



* James's " Sketch of Marion," p. 84. f Gazette of November, 1780. 

X This entry appears in the journal of Mr. Pugh : — 

" Sunday, 19th Novr. preached Gen. M'Intosh's funeral, at the Welch Neck, 
on 2 Timothy, iv. 7, 8." 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 347 

happiness to fill every position to which he was called with 
fidelity and honor. Of superior mental endowments, and 
well-balanced character, commanding in person, and pos- 
sessed of an ample fortune, he was enabled to exert a degree 
of influence beyond most of his contemporaries in the ser- 
vice of his country, in which he was active and prominent 
from the commencement of the struggle for liberty. Nor, 
in the midst of so troublous a period did he forget the chief 
duty of man. In war, he meekly served the Prince of 
Peace, and died the death of the righteous. 

General Harrington was still on the Pedee,* and continued 
to hold that position until some time in December. He 
then moved up the river, and was shortly after at Grassey 
Creek, Roanoke, where he received the following letter from 
Col. John Donaldson : — 

" Richmond County, Pedee, 30th Deer., 1780. 

" Dear General, 

" This will serve to acknowledge the receipt of 
yom' favors, dated the 11th and 19th inst., for which I am 
much obliged to you. Your order on me by W. Hardick 
shall be answered the first opportunity. As to news, I am 
at a loss to inform you of any. As to the enemy's move- 
ments, was last night informed that Lord Cornwallis had 
retreated to Camden, but am not certain as to the truth. 
Before this reaches you, I imagine you will hear of the Hon. 
Major-General Green's marching here with a number of 
Continentals, Virginia Militia, and some cavalry ; but as to 
real number, am not acquainted, for I have never been in 
camp yet, which is on Hicks's Creek. 



* The following is one of many accounts of articles furnished General 
Harrington's forces on Pedee : — 

" State of South Carolina. 

" To George Hicks. 
Novr. 6, 1780, 1921 Ihs. of pork @ 32.y. U. per 100, £31 7 6 
„ 15, „ 100 bundles corn blades, @ 70c?. per 100, 15 6 
„ 29, „ 180 busls. corn, @ 3*. Qd. 31 10 8 



£63 13 8 



" The above mentioned pork, corn blades, and corn were impressed for use of 
N. C. militia, in this State, under command of Brig.-Gcn. Harrington, who at 
that time had the command of the S. C. militia on both sides of the Pedee." 



348 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

" Brigadier-General Morgan is left with some chosen 
troops on the Catawba River. Where General Sumpter is, 
I cannot say. General Marion has had two small skir- 
mishes with the Tories and British, at or near Nelson^s 
Ferry. The enemy retreated towards Camden. He took 
some prisoners and killed some, the number not known. 
His Excellency, John Rutledge, Esq., of South Carolina, 
General Huger, and some other officers belonging to that 
State, are in camp, 

" I am told his Excellency is going to camp at the Che- 
raws. I hope he will transmogriphy the Northern Tories, 
and make them know that liberty has not declined altogether 
her friendship for that State. Col. Thomas Wade has got 
an appointment to act as Commissary for the South State. 
He speaks of building 300 flat-bottomed boats, as to the 
use of which many are the conjectures. I hope for the 
best. 

" If our allies are but near Bermuda, I should think 
Lord Cornwallis will draw near to Charles-town for support 
of that place. It was almost without necessary guards a few 
days ago, as report goes. 

" I have spoken to Col. Medlock as to your request, but 
he says he has not received any satisfactory answer from the 
Board of War ; but as he is coming to the Assembly in the 
course of the week, he may settle that matter. 

"He was appointed, at our Court, Commissioner, and 
gave security for the same. How far we are justifiable in 
holding Court, I cannot say. Some necessary things were 
done — for particulars, shall refer you to Col. Medlock. 

" Col. Wade was at my house a few days ago, and hinted 
he would be willing to be done with the Light Horse Regi- 
ment for the three counties. He told me he would Avritc to 
you on the subject. If so, and any party of horse or foot 
should be thought proper to be raised, and that for a cer- 
tain time, not less than six or twelve months, if thought 
best, and that proper arms might be had for them ; then, 
if you should think that my weak abilities could be of any 
service to my country, I shall be willing to serve, so that 
strict discipline may be allowed, when on duty. But shall 
refer the whole to your good judgment. I rest fully assured 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 349 

of your doing everything in your power for your much- 
injured country, and remain, dear General, 
" Your most obedient, and 

" Very humble Servant, 

" John Donaldson. 

" To Hon. Brigadier- General Harrington, 
" Grassey Creek, Roanoke. 

" P.S. — Sir, please to present my compliments to Mrs. 
Harrington, and all inquiring friends, — 1 am yours, &c. 

" J. D. 

" N.B. — I am in great want of a good sword. In case 
of employment, will pay any expenses. — I am yours, 

" J. D." 

General Green, who had been sent to take charge of the 
Southern Department, arrived at Charlotte, North Caro- 
lina, December 2. But, in consequence of the scarcity of 
food, that region having been greatly plundered, he divided 
his forces. Gen. Morgan was sent with a strong body to 
the western parts of South Carolina, while General Green, 
with the main column, marched on 20th December for Pedee. 
His force now consisted of not more than one thousand Conti- 
nentals, and about as many militia. He was bare of 
ammunition and clothing, and had no money to pay for 
them.* 

He pitched his camp on the southern bank of Husband's 
Creek,t three miles from Cheraw, on the east side of the 
river, but moved almost immediately after to a position on 
Hicks's Creek, a mile higher up. 

Lord Cornwallis, in a letter to Col. Tarleton, dated Wyns- 
borough, Dec. 26th, 1780, thus wrote : — " A man came this 
morning from Charlotte-town ; his fidelity is, however, very 
doubtful. He says, that Green marched on Wednesday last 
towards the Cheraws, to join Gen. Caswell ; and that 
Morgan, with his infantry, and one hundred and twenty- 
four of Washington's Light Horse, crossed Biggin's Ferrv 



* .James's " Sketch of Marion," p. 85. 
■j- Some remains of his first encampment were to be seen a few years since. 



350 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

on Thursday and Friday last, to join Lacy.* I expect more 
certain iuforinatiou/' 

Of the luovcments luadc abt)ut this time, Tarlcton wrote 
al'terwai'ds : — " During the preparation for the second inva- 
sion of North Carolina, emissaries liad been despatched into 
that Pro^■ince to obtain intelligence of the force and designs 
of the enemy. 

" Near the end of December information was received that 
Gen. Green had made a division of his troops, which did 
not exceed one thousand four hundred men, exclusive of 
the militia ; and that he had committed the light infantry 
and Col. Washington's cavalry to Gcu. INIorgan, with direc- 
tions to pass the Catawba and Ih'oad Kivcrs, in order to 
collect the militia in the districts through which he 
nuu'chcd, and afterwards threaten Ninety-six ; whilst lu^ con- 
ducted the other division of the Continentals to Haley's 
Ferry, on the River Pedee, to form a junction with Gen. 
Caswell, and give jealousy to Camden. This appeared to be 
the outline of the iVnierican design previous to the arrival 
of Gen. Leslie's reinforcements. The intelligence Gen. 
Green had procured siiu>e his appointment to the southward, 
and the calculations of his own and the British force, might 
suggest the propriety of attempting to distress the frontier 
of South Carolina by a desultt)ry war, till he could acquire 
a connnand suiliciently numerous and well disciplined to 
conduct more decisive operations. 

" There could not be an arrangement better chosen, pro- 
vided the Royalists were not joined by any additional regi- 
ments ; but the increase of the English army would certainly 
frustrate such a disposition. 

" It is not to be supposed that Gen. Green would have 
adopted the liazardous plan of dividing and advancing his 
troops, if he had received authentic information of Gen. 
Leslie's command being withdrawn from \ irgiuia and 
united to the force in South Carolina ; because such an 
accessit)u of strength woidd luiturally produce a nunement 
from Wynsborough, which, if executed with tolerable 
rapidity, might separate the two divisions of the American 



" Tarleton," p. 207. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 351 

army, and endanger their being totally dispersed or de- 
stroyed/^"^ 

The disposition of his forces made by Gen, Green may 
have been hazardous, and was doubtless done in ignorance 
of the transfer of Leslie ; yet the enemy failed to take 
advantage of it, so as to accomplish the results most confi- 
dently anticipated. 

The advance of Green to Pedee inspired general confidence 
in that part of the State, and gave a new impetus to the 
partisan warfare already successfully waged. Thus the year 
1780 drew to a close, victory, in the main, having followed 
the invadcr^s steps. And yet the spirit of liberty had 
revived ; the division of the British forces to keep the State 
in subjection, only develoj)ed the weakness of the enemy, 
and pointed out the way, by such a conflict as Marion, 
Kolb, and others were now carrying on, of ensuring a cer- 
tain and not very remote victory in the end. 



* " Tarleton," pp. 207, 208. It would seem, from wliut Tarleton here says, 
that General Green's first design might have been to go to Haley's Ferry, or 
possibly that report was circulated to mislead the enemy. His movement was 
directly to Cheraw. 



352 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



CHAPTER XV. 

General Green on Pedee — His retreat into North Carolina — Progress of British 
arms — Extracts from Pugh's journal — Colonel Murphy and the Tories 
— Gideon Gibson's death — Difficulty and correspondence between Captain 
Snipes and Colonel Kolb — The latter writes to General Marion — Whigs 
surprise the Tories on tlie Three Creeks — Harry Sparks killed — Tories 
routed — Whig expeditions against them to Drowning Creek and Cat Pish — 
Tories retaliate on Colonel Ko'.b — His death — Adventures of Lewis Malone 
Ayer — Other scenes of that day — Outrages by the Tory party — Kolb's 
character — Account of Captain Jones, the Tory leader, and others — Cartel 
for exchange of prisoners between General Green and Cornwallis — Corn- 
wallis's movements — His declining fortunes and his correspondence — Colonels 
Benton and Murphy, and other leaders on Pedee — Extracts from Pugh's 
journal — Murphy's fight with Tories at Bass's Mill — Derangement of civil 
affairs — Ordinary appointed for Cheraws — Gainey's difficulty with Murphy 
— Treaty between Gainey and General Marion — Gainey's character — Inci- 
dent connected with battle of Eutaw — Legislative elections for Cheraws — 
Colonel Steward's case — Mrs. Steward's petition — Steward's character and 
death — Confiscation Bill — Extract from Royal Gazette — Citizens of Cheraws 
included in the Bill — Extracts satirical from Royal Gazette — General Pinck- 
ney's letter to General Matthews. 

The year 1781 opened upon strangely varied scenes through- 
out the State. The enemy was confident^ though suffering 
from reverses, and preparing for decisive movements. The 
presence of Gen. Green on the Pedee kept the disaffected 
in awe during his brief stay, and brought with it a state of 
comparative repose to the inhabitants in the adjacent region. 
Col. Kolb was now in the full tide of his successful career 
as the honored champion of the cause of America in the 
Cheraw District. Col. Murphy was doing valiant service in 
the parts lower down on the east, Major Benton had his 
post on the west of the river, while Marion was actively 
engaged from Lynchers Creek to George-town. 

The wearied army was recruiting in camp on Hicks^s 
Creek. John Wilson, then a young and active Whig, was 
appointed captain of a small company of trusty men, called 
the " Munchausen Corps," as a light troop, to scour the 
country around during Green's sojourn on the Pedee. 
This, however, was to be of short continuance. The pur- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 353 

suit of Morgan by Cornwallis, after the battle of Cow-pens, 
of which Gen. Green received early intelligence, induced 
him to break up his encampment on the Pedee and move 
with all possible despatch in order to join Morgan.* He 
went in advance, with a small party, lea^dng the main body 
to follow on. The march commenced on the 28th of 
January, 1781. Of the almost incredible hardships endured 
during the rigors of this memorable winter, and particularly 
on the retreat from Guilford Court House, the historians 
of the time have written. Nothing of special interest 
occurred during the month's stay of Green on the Pedee. 
The only remains of his correspondence while here which 
have appeared, are a few brief letters to Marion, Sumpter and 
others. 

His departure tlu'ew the Whigs of Cheraw District once 
more upon their own strong arms for protection, and the 
warfare with the Tories was renewed with unsparing fero- 
city. 

Called off, as many of them were to the assistance of 
Marion, advantage was taken of their absence by marauding 
parties to ravage the country, and plunder their defenceless 
homes. Alarming accounts were also spread abroad of the 
progress of the British arms, keeping the public mind in a 
state of constant agitation. Mr. Pugh's journal furnishes 
some extracts descriptive of the time. 

" Thursday, 25th January. At home all day. Had certain 
news of Tarleton's defeat at Broad River. Many people 
here all day. 

" Saturday, 3rd February. Went to the Mill,t and Lide's. 
Met Lee's horsemen at the Mill. 

" Thursday, 22nd. Murphy's company ran from the 
Tories. 

" Wednesday, 28th March. Had the news that Marion's 
camp was taken. 

" Thursday, 29th. Camp not taken. The British at 
Burch's.^' 



* James Gillespie, a staunch and active young Whig, who resided near 
Green's Camp, acted as guide to the general on liis march fi-om Pedee. 

■j- Long after known as Gibson's Mill, on the road from Long Bluff to 
George-town. 



354 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Lower down, on the east side of the river, the Tories 
made frequent incursions from Little Pedee, finding ready 
co-operation on the part of some in that immediate region. 

The Whigs were driven in some cases to acts of cruel 
retaliation. One instance of this kind is related of Col. 
Maurice Murphy. He was a man of ungovernable passion, 
which was often inflamed by strong drink. On the occa- 
sion alluded to he went to the house of a noted Tory, named 
Blackman, then somewhat advanced in years, and inoffen- 
sive. He had several sons, however, who were active against 
the Whigs. Murphy ^s real object, doubtless, was to disco- 
ver where these and others of their companions were. 
Having tied Blackman, he asked him who he was for; and 
upon his replying, " for King George," gave him fifty lashes. 
The question was repeated with the same reply, and the 
like punishment inflicted, until the fourth time, when, upon 
finding the old man unyielding, Mm-phy was compelled to 
desist. Blackman lived on Cat Fish, and the place is yet 
called " Tory's Camp." 

Gideon Gibson, the uncle of Murphy, blamed him for 
his conduct on this occasion. 

Subsequently Murphy stopped with his company at Gib- 
son's for breakfast, and while there the subject was resumed. 
A quarrel ensued, and as Murphy mounted his horse to start 
off, Gibson followed him to the door and said something 
offensive, whereupon Murphy shot him dead. Three of 
Gibson's sons were present in INIurphy's company, and were 
men of undoubted courage ; but knowing his violent temper 
and desperate resolution, did not interfere. Nothing was 
done to Murphy afterwards. 

In the early part of the year Capt. William Clay Snipes, 
from the Lower Pedee, applied to Gov. Rutledge for permission 
to raise an independent company to operate westward of the 
Santee. The Governor wrote to Gen. Marion, 28th January, 
from Cheraw, on the subject, giving his sanction to the 
undertaking, and Gen. Sumpter subsequently issued instruc- 
tions to the same effect. 

In raising his company, Captain Snipes induced some of 
the men under Col. Kolb's command to join him. This led 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 355 

to a correspondence and protest on the part of the colonel 
against such a proceeding. 

" Sir J — I am informed you are taking all the young men 
that I have ordered to join Gen. Marion with you to the 
southward. I must now beg leave to inform you of Gen. 
Marion^s orders against such proceedings^ which I have just 
received^ forbidding any person leaving his brigade without 
his leave. " I am^ sir, 

" Your most obedient, humble Servant, 

" A. KOLB. 

'' To Capt. Snipes." 

To this the following tart reply was made : — 

"April 16th, 1781. 
" Sir, — I received yours, and this will inform you that I 
have instructions from Gen, Sumpter, who commands Gen. 
Marion, to raise men where I can ; and as to Gen. Marion's 
orders, in this case it avails nothing. 
" I am, sir, 

" Your most humble Servant, 

" William Clay Snipes.''* 

Two days after this Col. Kolb wrote to Gen. Marion on 
the subject, complaining of Captain Snipes' course. 

" April 18th, 1781. 

" Dear Sir, — Through much difficulty I have sent you 
Captain John Wilds with a few men, though not the num- 
ber you expect. 

" I expressed a few days ago the opinion that I should 
not be able to send you a single man, for as soon as the 
men were ordered to join you. Snipes and some officers 
whom he had appointed out of this regiment, endeavored 
to prevent their joining you, by telling them some fine 
stories, and speaking rather disrespectfully of you, as I have 
been informed, to prevent their joining you. 

" As soon as I received your last orders I immediately 



* Gibbes's " Documentary History," 1781-82, pp. 52, 53. 

A A 2 



356 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

informed Lieut. Lyons^ whom I had ordered to join you 
with the young men that were to have been continued with 
you^ of your orders^ informing him that I thought the 
young men that were ready in turning out with him to join 
Gen. Sumpter would receive the same advantage by joining 
you^ but this did not avail anything. 

" When I found this to be the case, I wrote him again, 
also wrote Captain Snipes, a copy of which I have enclosed 
you ; also Snipes'' answer. I saw Lyons yesterday myself. 
I asked him about the men that he had raised ; he said he 
had sent them to General Sumpter, and that he would send 
every other man of the regiment that he could recruit, to 
him, notwithstanding they were ordered other ways. He 
damned himself if he would serve under any officer but 
«rliom he pleased ; that he disregarded any orders that 
might be issued to the contrary. As soon as I received 
your orders, I ordered my men to have half of their men 
in readiness to join you, by a certain time. Just as they 
were ready to march, the said Lyons immediately impressed 
several of their horses, and sent them off, which prevents 
many of them coming to you, and the scarcity of horses at 
this time and place, prevents their being replaced. 

" I should be glad to know what method you would have 
me to take with such persons. I shall endeavor to send 
some few men on to you as soon as horses can be had, as 
we are obliged to stop ploughs to get horses at this time to 
do patrol duty. We have no news, only of a party of 
Tories, who have been in Captain Murphy^s company, com- 
manded by a Captain John Brockington. 
" I am, dear Sir, 

" Your most humble Servant, 

"Abel Kolb.^-^^ 

General Marion wrote to General Sumpter immediately, 
and in reply, General Sumpter said : — " You gave your 
opinion in that [a previous letter], it is true, with respect to 
raising troops upon the State establishment, which opinion 
it appears you have resumed, not from the ill policy of the 



* Gibbes's " Documentary History," 1781-72, pp. 54, 55. 



HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 357 

measure, but because Major Snipes might have disobliged 
you. Whether he gave a cause of umbrage I know not ; 
he was acting by no particular direction of me. If he has 
transgressed, he is amenable, and may, as an officer, be 
punished with great propriety, notwithstanding there is 
neither executive nor legislative body in the State; yet I 
think their powers exist, and whoever denies it is dilating 
the almost mortal wound our laws have received, and 
directly admits what Major Snipes may have done to be 
just, or that what he prevented another from doing, was 
unjust. I revere the citizen who is tenacious of the laws 
of his country. I lament their being so much abused. If 
I have done* it, I think myself accountable, and shall no 
doubt be called upon by the gentleman to whom you say 
you shall represent the matter ; and if he is unacquainted 
with my motives and the step I have taken, should be happy 
to have his opinion upon that head. To his judgment and 
authority, I pay the greatest respect ; but I have not a 
doubt but that he and all impartial men, will applaud an 
undertaking which promised so much good to the United 
States, and this in particular ; especially as it was the last 
and only measure that could be adopted for its security, or 
possession of even the least part of it. As to the powers 
by which I act, they ought not to be called in question by 
any man, until gentlemen whom it might con-cern had used 
proper means to obtain information.^''^ Here th^e discus- 
sion of the matter appears to have dropped. Even before 
these lines of General Sumpter were penned. Col. Kolb was 
no longer among the living. One of those bloody acts of 
the Tories, so characteristic of this period, led to a series of 
retaliations on the part of the Whigs, which ended in a 
mournful catastrophe for the inhabitants of the Pedee. 

A party of Whigs, shortly before this, went out in search 
of a noted band of Tories who w^ere known to occupy a 
stronghold in the swamp of the Three Creeks, from which 
frequent incursions had been made into the river settlements. 
At that time, the swamp was an almost impenetrable 
morass^ rendering it a secure retreat for such outlaws. 



* Gibbes's " Documentary History," 1781-82, pp. 64, 65. 



358 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Upon approaching its border, the Whigs remained quiet for 
some time, hoping to discover some sign of the enemy ; but 
in vain. To penetrate it in a body, not knowing the exact 
location of the Tory camp, would have been a most hazard- 
ous undertaking. They were at a loss what to do, and as 
painfully impressed with the necessity of striking an effec- 
tive blow. At length, after a tedious delay, oue of their 
number, Harry Sparks, noted for his activity and courage, 
volunteered to go in alone and bring back a speedy report 
to his companions. He succeeded in reaching the camp ;* 
and after a careful inspection, was in the act of retreating, 
when he was discovered and captured. His protracted ab- 
sence excited alarm, and at length, becoming desperate at 
the thought of Sparks^ fate, the whole party dashed into 
the swamp together, determined to rescue him, if alive, or 
perish in the attempt. 

Following his trail, they succeeded without difficulty in 
reaching the spot, and there found the camp deserted, and, 
to their horror, the lifeless body of their comrade hanging 
from a tree. A cry went up for vengeance, and not long 
after retribution came. Captain Daniel Sparks, a brother 
of Harry, succeeded in capturing subsequently one of the 
ringleaders of the Tory gang. Upon being charged with 
the act, which he promptly acknowledged. Captain Sparks 
told him he should be hung. " Very well,^^ said the un- 
daunted fellow, " as soon as you please. '^ 

Sparks ordered his men to proceed with the execution 
of the prisoner, who assisted with apparent cheerfulness in 
adjusting the rope about his neck, sprang on the back of 
the horse brought to elevate him from the ground, asked if 
the rope was well secured to the limb, and upon being told 
it was, kicked the horse, making him move suddenly from 
under him, and swung off into eternity with an oath upon 
his lips. After hanging Sparks, the Tories fled, fearing the 
proximity of a large and hostile party, well knowing that 
instant pursuit would be made. They were followed with- 
out delay by Col. Kolb, in command of a chosen band. 



* The locality of this once celebrated hiding place is now pointed out near 
the " Mineral Spring " in Marlborough District, seven uiiles below Bennetts- 
ville, a favourite resort of some of the planters of the neighbourhood. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 359 

among whom were James Gillespie and Josiali Cantey, and 
were overtaken on Drowning Creek_, in the neighbourhood 
of a famous Tory rendezvous. On their way, while passing 
a house a short distance from the road, Cantey rode up to 
inspect the premises. As he approached, a large mulatto, 
a noted outlaw, left the house, and mounting his pony, 
started off at full speed. Soon overtaking him, Cantey 
rather jokingly said he would shoot him if he did not stop. 
Without slackening his pace, the fellow discharged his gun 
at Cantey, who was partially in the rear, striking him in 
the breast. Cantey fell from his horse, and as others of 
the party came up, exclaimed, " I am mortally wounded.^' 
It proved, however, to be nothing serious. The mulatto 
was at once overtaken and shot. Another like him was 
soon after despatched. The expedition ended in a general 
rout of the Tories, but nothing more. 

Soon after his return from Drowning Creek, Colonel 
Kolb went down the river on the east side, to the neigh- 
bourhood of Cat Fish, with a more formidable party. Major 
Lemuel Benton, Capt. Joseph Dabbs, and John Coxe were 
among the number who accompanied him. Some daring 
outrages had been committed -in this quarter, and it was 
necessary to proceed with a strong and well-organized 
body. 

Nothing of importance occurred until they reached Ru- 
lings Mill.* Here they surprised two notorious Tories, John 
Deer and Osburn Lean. The latter was shot in attempting 
to make his escape into Cat Fish Swamp, and got off with a 
broken arm. Deer was overtaken as he reached the swamp, 
and killed. It was on this occasion, or shortly before, that 
Caleb Williams, a desperate marauder, noted especially for 
house burning, was taken by Kolb's party and hung. After 
proceeding further, capturing other guilty parties, and 
punishing or discharging them on promise of good behaviour. 
Colonel Kolb returned home, and dismissed his party, feel- 
ing secure for a time at least in the thought that the Tories 



* This was the site of the mill owned by the late Joseph Bass, ten or twelve 
miles above Miirion, C. H. Hulin was a neutral characttT. Many persons, 
actuated by politic motives, found it to their interest to take such a position. 
They were generally Loyalists at heart. 



360 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

had been overawed, and would not soon renew their depre- 
dations. In this, however, he was most sadly deceived. It 
was natural that such acts of retaliation on the part of the 
Whigs should excite a desperate spirit of revenge in the 
Tories. In this instance their fury Avas directed chiefly 
against Colonel Kolb, who had rendered himself most ob- 
noxious hy his repeated successes in capturing and punishing 
some of their most active and notable men. And they 
were particularly excited against him, now that his path in 
the late expedition had been marked by the blood of several 
of their favourite companions. Nothing, as subsequently 
appeared, was to satisfy them short of his life. No sooner 
had he departed from the neighbourhood of Cat Fish, than 
a plan was set on foot to surprise him in the bosom of his 
family, and put him to death. Knowing that his men 
would be disbaiided for a short time after his return, they 
determined to follow on without delay, and make sure of 
their prey. 

Accordingly, a company of about fifty Tories collected at 
the place now known as Tart^s Mill, six miles above Marion 
Court House. 

Their leader was Captain Joseph Jones,"^ a native of that 
neighbourhood. No time was to be lost. The more rapid 
their movements, the more certain would be the surprise. 
A few hours' hard riding would take them to the object of 
their revenge, about thirty-four miles distant. It was ar- 
ranged that they should reach Colonel Kolb's at a late hour 
of the night. 

Riding up rapidly under cover of darkness, the surprise 
was complete. The high qualities of the gallant Kolb, sud- 
denly roused from sleep, with his loved ones around him, 
and a brutal foe thirsting for blood at his door, were now 
to be put upon their last and severest trial. His family 
consisted of Mrs. Kolb, an only daughter,t then a child, 



* James, in his " Life of Marion," speaks of Gibson and his party as having 
gone on this occasion against Colonel Kolb. Gibson may have been a pro- 
minent character in connexion with the attiur, but Jones was unquestionably 
the acting captain of the Tory party. 

f The late Mrs. Anne J . Pouncey, wife of Major James Pouncey, of Marl- 
borough, then but eight years old. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 361 

and two sisters.* Two young men, Evans', were also with 
the family. They had probably accompanied the colonel 
on his late expedition, and were members of his staff. The 
house was well secured, and the inmates doubly armed. Well 
knowing the bloody purpose and desperate character of the 
foe. Colonel Kolb's first impulse was to sell his life as 
dearly as possible. A determined resistance was accordingly 
made, though in the face of overpowering numbers, and 
as some accounts represent, but incorrectly perhaps, several 
of the Tory party were killed. Not knowing the number 
within, and excited to desperation by the resistance offered, 
if not the havoc made in their ranks, the Tories threatened 
to burn the dwelling with its inmates, if Colonel Kolb did 
not at once surrender. It is said by one authority, the 
house was actually fired, Reduced to the last extremity, 
and moved by the entreaties of the ladies, whose consterna- 
tion must have been great, the colonel agreed to deliver 
himself up as a prisoner of war. The proposition was ac- 
cepted ; and he went forth, accompanied by his wife and 
sisters, and when almost in the act of presenting his sword, 
was treacherously shot on the spot. This deed was perpe- 
trated, without the captain's orders, by Mike Goings, a pri- 
vate in the Tory ranks. On some former occasion, Colonel 
Kolb had excited this man's special hostility, and hence his 
perfidious revenge. Thomas Evans, upon this murderous 
breach of faith, attempted to escape, but was shot, and died 
soon after from the cflFect of the wound. f The dwelling was 
then plundered,^ and after setting it on fire, the Tories made 
a hasty retreat. 

Between the dwelling of Colonel Kolb and the ferry, a 
few hundred yards below, stood a block house which had 
been erected by the Whigs for the safe keeping of their 



* These sisters were Ann James, who married Joshua Edwards, and Sarah 
who married Evander M'lver, as heretofore stated. 

f Thomas Evans succeeded in reaching a house on Spot Mill Creek (on the 
west side of the river), near a point where it is now crossed by the Cheraw and 
Darlington R. R., and died a few days after. Some authorities state that 
another person named Evans, a brother probably, was shot on the spot and 
killed. 

;}; John Jones, a brother of the Tory captain, was seen on the return of the 
party, as they passed old John Bethea's, riding Colonel Kolb's horse and saddle, 
with a feather bed tied before him. 



362 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

prisoners. It was called the " Bull Pen." On tliis occasion 
a mimbcr were confined within its walls, among tliem two. 
British officers, and several soldiers. Simnltanconsly with 
the assault on Colonel Kolb, the small guard which kept 
watch at the " Bull Pen" were surprised, and the prisoners 
turned loose. Two of the soldiers, on their release, went 
down the river to the residence of old Mrs. Wilds, opposite 
Long Bluft', in search of the treasure, which by some means 
they had learned she kept on her person. Finding her unpro- 
tected, they made a rude search and took her gold away. 
At this stage in the history of this calamitous day, the 
thrilling narrative of an eye-witness continues the story. 
Lewis ]\Ialone Ayer,^ the second son of Thomas Ayer, of 
Hunt^s Bluff, then a lad of twelve or thirteen years of age, 
was on a visit with his mother to the family of John Downes, 
a brother-in-law, who lived about three miles above Colonel 
Kolb's on the river. INIr. Downes having died in the course 
of the night, young Ayer was despatched at an early hour 
in the morning to inform the colonel of the sad event. 

He had proceeded about half way, when he was startled 
by the firing of guns in the direction of Col. Kolb^s resi- 
dence. Upon going a short distance further, and alarmed 
at the unusual sounds he had heard, he saw an old man, 
William Forniss, riding out from his house to the road. 
They were well acquainted ; and upon coming up, he ac- 
costed the youth in an excited, hurried manner, saying, 
" Lewis, what firing of guns was that a while ago?" Ayer 
replied, " I do not know ;" and just then, upon looking in 
that direction, they saw Colonel Kolb's residence in fiames. 
Young Ayer then related the errand on which he was going, 
and the old man replied, *' Come along, let us go and see 
what is to pay there. I will not lead you into danger." 

On approaching tiie path which led out from Colonel 
Kolb's to the main Welch Neck road down the river, they 
saw, from a number of fresh tracts, that a company of horse- 
men had passed rapidly on but a short time before. " Who- 
ever they are," said Forniss, " they are gone, and we may 



* The venerable Lewis Malone Ayer, of Baruwell, to whom reference hu3 
already been made. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 363 

now approach without fear/' Upon riding up, a mournful 
spectacle was presented to their view. The dwelling was 
enveloped in flames, and about to tumble in ; and a short 
distance off were Mrs. Kolb and her two sisters-in-law weep- 
ing over their dead. 

They told the sad story of the surprise and resistance, of 
the final capitulation and the closing scene ; and how, not 
satisfied with blood, the Tories had rifled the house of every 
valuable, set it on fire, and fled. The bleeding corpse the 
agonized females had been forced to remove beyond the 
reach of the burning timbers. The lapse of nearly eighty 
years had not dimmed the eye of memory as the once 
youthful Aver loolced back from old age upon the shocking 
scene. His day's adventures had now just begun. Forniss, 
well aware of the danger to which all those who might come 
in the way of the retreating Tory party would be exposed, 
informed young Ayer that a brother-in-law of his (Ayer's), 
named M'Gee, was that day to come up to Col. Kolb's on 
business, that he must hasten on, get around and ahead of 
the Tories, so as to intercept M^Gee and apprize him of the 
danger, or he would certainly be killed. 

The youthful rider was mounted on a beautiful animal, a 
piebald mare, with flaxen mane and tail, and noted for her 
fleet ncss. He was confident she could bear him away un- 
harmed from any pursuit that might be made, having out- 
stripped the Tories on several previous occasions when they 
had chased him to eff'ect her capture. Excited by the scene 
just witnessed, and alarmed at the prospect of the imminent 
peril to which M'Gee would be exposed, he started at once 
on the hazardous mission, secure, however, in the watchful 
eye above that guided him, and the fleetness of his mare, 
which had often eluded the pursuer before. After proceed- 
ing a short distance, he met an old man, Willis by name, 
small of stature, and a shoemaker by trade. Willis lived 
out in the marshes, and being old and feeble, was allowed 
to occupy ostensibly the position of a neutral. His heart, 
however, was with the Whigs, and, as opportunity offered, 
he rendered faithful service to the cause of liberty. On this 
occasion he rode a shaggy pony, corresponding in age with 
himself, and carried on his shoulder an old-fashioned, long- 



364 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHBRAWS. 

barrelled fowling-piece, wliicli he affectionately called " Old 
Sweet-lips." Upon meeting young Ayer, lie asked what all 
that shooting was he had heard above. In a few words the 
story was related to him, and that of the errand upon which 
the youth had started. " Very well/' said he, " hurry on ; 
you will see two of the red-coats lying in the road ahead of 
you.'' His words proved true, for a little further on the 
youth found two British soldiers dead in the road, who had 
bled profusely. They had paid the penalty of an untimely 
plundering sally with their lives. 

How the old man, feeble as he was, managed to kill them 
both, he did not relate. Observing that their shoe-buckles 
had been taken out, young Ayer concluded that they were 
also stripped of every valuable about them. Hearing a few 
days after that old Mrs. Wilds had been robbed by two of 
the soldiers who escaped from the " Bull-pen," the old man 
went down to see her, and found that they had taken from 
her person one hundred and one guineas, which she had 
kept for a long time concealed, supposing that no one out 
of her own immediate family knew anything of it. Willis 
then produced the package of coin, which she recognised as 
her own. On opening and counting it out, not a piece was 
found missing. She offered a portion to the honest reco- 
verer, which he magnanimously refused to receive, saying it 
was hers, and he was sufficiently rewarded in being able to 
restore it to her. From the spot where the soldiers had 
fallen, young Ayer pursued his way, the road running along 
a ridge flanked on either side by swamp or boggy marsh 
land. He hastened on, for there was no time to be lost. 
A few miles below, at a point where an abrupt turn was 
made by the road to avoid the marsh, it reached the house 
of a man named M'Daniel. Riding at a rapid pace, for he 
expected not to overtake the Tories so soon, he was almost 
upon them before he could rein his mare in. Some of the 
party were on the piazza, but most of them within the house. 
He was immediately discovered and pursued with a shout, 
the Tories halloing at the top of their voices to the flying 
youth to stop. Several shots were fired at him, but with- 
out effect, having been aimed high, as he supposed, not to kill 
his mare. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 365 

After wheeling round, young Ayer struck out of the 
main road into a narrow cow-path, which crossed a large 
and very boggy marsh. 

It was so narrow and obscure that his pursuers did not 
observe it, though he knew, being familiar with the locality, 
that it was the only track by which a safe crossing could 
be effected. Seeing him dash through, they attempted to 
do the same, and by going directly across, hoped to get 
ahead of him, as the path led around by an angle. But, 
in this they were sadly disappointed. For as he reached 
the opposite ridge, and looked back, lying close on the off- 
side of his mare, the result was what he anticijmted. The 
whole party were in full view, riders and horses floundering 
in the mud, in hopeless confusion. The chase was at an 
end, the despicable pursuers deeply chagrined to have 
been thus out-witted by a boy, and glad to get back to 
the quarters they had left. The flying youth pursued his 
way through the woods for several miles, until he reached 
the road leading from Pledger's Mill* to the Welch Neck 
road, with which it formed a junction near a house owned 
by a Mr. Cogdell, but then occupied by a man named 
Cotton. The Tories, as young Ayer afterwards learned, 
supposed his object was to pass them in order to give infor- 
mation of their coming to a party of Col. Murphy's men, 
then at Brown's Mill, on Muddy Creek, and whom the 
Tories intended to surprise. They hastened on therefore at 
greater speed, after the escape of Ayer. 

The latter had taken a somewhat circuitous route, to 
elude them the more surely, and in that way the Tories got 
ahead of him. 

After leaving M^Daniel's, they wantonly killed a mulatto 
man, the slave of Capt. Daniel Sparks, whom they found on 
the way ; and Cotton, taken by surprise, was despatched at 
his house. A few moments after they left Cotton's, young 
Ayer came into the Welch Neck road again, but knowing 
the party had passed the point where M'Gee would enter it, 
he turned off into the road by which the latter was to come, 
and after going a short distance, met him on his way. 



* Since known as tbe Old Saw Mills, in Marlborough District. 



366 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

The greater speed of the Tories after the chase of young 
Aycr, was the means of M'Gce being saved. 

The most of Col. Murphy's men had left the post at 
Brown's Mill some days before. 

A feWj however, remained ; and of these, who were sur- 
prised, Capt. Joseph Dabbs,* a useful eitizen and well-tried 
Whig, was killed. Another, Ned Threwitts, escaped with a 
bullet in his shoulder. 

After returning from this bloody expedition, the Tories 
dispersed, taking .refuge, doubtless, for a time in their 
hiding places, knowing full well the vengeance with which 
they would be visited by the Whigs. Thus ended for the 
region of the Upper Pedee, the 28th of April, 1781, one of 
the saddest days in its history. The leader, to whom all 
eyes had proudly looked, was no more. Cut off in the 
prime of his manhood and in the midst of a career of use- 
fulness for his country, before his noble qualities had yet 
been fully developed, lie would doubtless have reached much 
higher distinction as a partisan leader, had his life been 

spared. t 

He was a man of retiring disposition, but firm and un- 
yielding where principle was involved, decided in his views, 
and of the highest order of courage. His education was 
limited ; but a sound and discriminating mind made amends . 
for the want of early cultivation. He had amassed a com- 
fortable fortune, and contributed liberally in means as well 
as personal eflbrt, to the cause of independence. In person 
he was of medium size, and comely, though not striking in 
ai)pearanee. His d(>ath, at such a juncture, was well cal- 
culated to fill the minds of the Whigs of Pedee for a time with 
despondency. A worthy successor, however, was at hand, to 
revive the public spirit, and nerve those, who had already 
suffered much, for other conflicts. His command devolved 
on Major Lemuel Benton, who as Lieutenant-Colonel, nobly 
sustained it to the close of the war. In a letter to Marion, 
of the 6tli May following. General Green alluded to the death 



* Captain Dablis lived on Crooked Creek, on lands near the site of the 
mill owned in later times by .Judge Evans. 

t The widow of Ci)lonel Kolb subsequently married Jesse Wilds, a son of the 
old Mrs. Wilds of whom mention has been made. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 367 

of Col. Kolbj with unaffected sorrow. Ramsay^ the first 
historian of the Revolution in Carolina, recorded it briefly. 
On the hearts of his sorrowing countrymen, who knew him 
best, his real worth was impressed in characters which time 
could never efface. Tradition has assigned him the first 
place, perhaps, in the confidence and affection of the people, 
among the military men of that day. 

Captain Jones,* the leader of the Tory party which sur- 
prised Col. Kolb, was a man of some note. He possessed 
a good property, and was ingenious to a remarkable 
degree. He is said to have made the first surveyor's com- 
pass ever used in Marion District. Notwithstanding his 
course during the Revolution, he continued to live on Cat 
Fish until about 1802, and then removed to Colleton Dis- 
trict, where he died not very many years since. Old 
Willis, the shoemaker, an Irishman by birth, lived to a 
very advanced age, and died, where he had lived, in the 
marshes. 

Prior to these events on the Pedee the shock of arms 
had been felt again in North Carolina. Shortly before the 
battle of Guilford Court House, after the two armies had 
approached each other, and had some skirmishing, and one 
or two engagements, Lord Cornwallis and General Green 
entered into a correspondence for the exchange of prisoners 
belonging to the Southern armies. Captain Broderick, who 
was empowered to treat by the former, on account of some 
difficulties which arose, could not bring the business to a 
conclusion ; and being afterwards revived, it was finished by 
Captain Cornwallis on the part of the British, and Colonel 
Carrington as agent for the Americans, when the customary 
tariff was signed and executed. It was done at the house 



* Some years after the Revolution, Captain .Tones was on his trial at George- 
town for passing counterfeit money. Samuel Wilds, afterwards so distinguisiied, 
but then quite a young man, and not yet at the IJar, was present, and proposed 
to raise a company, take .Tones out and hang him, saying he deserved to die for 
his connexion with the murder of Colonel IColb. This incident was related to 
the author hy the late John D. Witherspoou, of Society Hill. It seems hardly 
in keeping, however, witli that kindness ofhe.irt and noble generosity for which 
Judge Wilds was so remarkable. He was young, however, and the feeling 
yet intense against the Torio-^. Mr. W. also stated that he once spent the ni^-ht 
with Kirbv, the murderer of .Toseph Dabbs. 



368 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

of Claudius Pegues, on Pedee, May 3rd, 1781.^ The de- 
clining fortunes of Cornwallis, after the battle of Guilford, 
as related by Tarleton, is a sad story. It touches the 
heart even now to look back upon the scene, and contem- 
plate the agonizing trials as he went down, of one who was 
actuated by generous impulses and sentiments of patriotic 
devotion to his king and country. After the close of the 
winter campaign in North Carolina, Cornwallis withdrew 
his forces into South Carolina, followed by Green. Soon 
after he advanced to Cross Creek, and then to Wilmington. 
" The aspect of affairs at this juncture,'^ said Tarleton, " pre- 
sented various and opposite designs to the noble earl at 
Wilmington. Upon the different investigations of the 
subject it was too successfully described, that the country 
between Cape Pear River and Camden was barren, and 
intersected with creeks and rivers ; that the road to George- 
town was replete with the same difficulties, that an embark- 
ation for Charles-town was disgraceful, and would occasion 
delay whilst the transports were coming round ; and that 
Virginia was more accessible, where Gen. Phillips com- 
manded a respectable force."t The noble earl was evidently 
looking with wistful eye toward South Carolina. There he 
had fondly hoped to maintain undisj)uted sway, and it was 
hard to give up the cherished design. 

" Hearing of Green's approach. Lord Rawdon, who com- 
manded the frontiers of South Carolina, was greatly alarmed, 
fearing a total defection of the inhabitants, an interruption 
of all communication with Charles-town, and the attack of 
a continental army, superior to his own in numbers.^' 
" Though the expresses from Cross Creek did not reach their 
destination, he gained by some other means such early in- 
telligence of the approach of Green, that he made judicious 
arrangements to counteract the designs of the enemy, and 
to advertize Earl Cornwallis of his embarrassed situation at 
Camden." His leader, however, could render Rawdon no 
assistance. The unhappy earl was himself in a position of 
the most trying embarrassment. He knew not where to 



* Moultrie's " Memoirs," vol. i. p. l78. 
f Tarletou's " Memoirs," p. 283. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 3G9 

look for reviving prospects. On 23rd of April he wrote 
-from Wilmington to Lord George Germaiue^ as follows : — 
'' Although the expresses I sent from Cross Creek to inform 
Lord Kawdon of the necessity I was under of coming to 
this place, and to warn him of the possibility of such an 
attempt of the enemy, had all miscarried, yet his lordship 
was lucky enough to be apprized of Gen. Greenes approach, 
at least six days before he could possibly reach Camden ; 
and I am therefore still induced to hope, from my opinion 
of his lordship^s abilities, and the precautions taken by him 
and Lieutenant-Colonel Balfour, that we shall not be so unfor- 
tunate as to lose any considerable corps. The distance from 
hence to Camden, the want of forage and subsistence on the 
greatest part of the road, and the difficulty of passing the 
Pedee, when opposed by an enemy, render it utterly impos- 
sible for me to give immediate assistance, and I apprehend 
a possibility of the utmost hazard to this little corps, without 
the chance of a benefit in the attempt ; for, if we are so 
unlucky as to suffer a severe blow in South Carolina, the 
spii'it of revolt in that Province would become very general, 
and the numerous rebels in this Province be encouraged to 
be more than ever active and violent. This might enable 
General Green to hem me in among the great rivers, and, 
by cutting off our subsistence, render our arms useless ; and 
to remain here for transports to carry us off would be a 
work of time, would lose our cavalry, and would be other- 
wise as ruinous and disgraceful to Britain, as most events 
could be. I have, therefore, under so many embarrassing 
circumstances (but looking upon Charles-tow^n as safe from 
any immediate attack from the rebels), resolved to take ad- 
vantage of General Greenes having left the back parts of 
Virginia open, and march immediately into that Province, 
to attempt a junction with Gen. Phillips. ^^"^ Broken in 
spirit, threatened on all sides, knowing from recent expe- 
rience the strength of Green, and fearing him as an antago- 
nist, Cornwallis, in his desperate extremity, decided upon a 
step which soon led to his ruin. He was evidently afraid 
to risk a passage through the country bordering on the 



* Tarletou's " Memoii-s," pp. 325, 326. 

B fi 



370 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Pedee. For the same expresses which had brought him the 
disagreeable news alluded to in the opening of the foregoing' 
extract, also informed him " that the upper parts of South 
Carolina were in the most imminent danger from an alarm- 
ing spirit of revolt among many of the people." His star 
was now on the wane, and soon to go down. His favorite 
legion leader thus commented on the earFs resolution to go 
to Virginia. " Happy would it have been, as far as general 
probability can be determined, had Earl Cornwallis directed 
his chief attention to the critical state of South Carolina, 
and commenced his return by any route to secure it.""^ 

On the 24th of April, Cornwallis wrote thus to Gen. 
Phillips : — " My situation here is very distressing. Green 
took the advantage of my being obliged to come to this 
place, and has marched to South Carolina. My expresses 
to Lord Rawdon, on my leaving Cross Creek, warning him 
of the impossibility of such a movement, have all failed ; 
mountaineers and militia liaA^e poiired into the back parts 
of this Province, and I much fear that Lord Rawdon^'s posts 
will be so distant from each other, and his troops so scat- 
tered, as to put him into the greatest danger of being beat 
in detail, and that the worst of consequences may happen to 
most of the troops out of Charles-town. 

" By a direct move towards Camden, I cannot get time 
enough to relieve Lord Rawdon ; and, should he have fallen, 
my army would be exposed to the utmost danger from the 
great rivers I should have to pass, the exhausted state of 
the country, the numerous militia, the almost univei'sal spirit 
of revolt which prevails in South Carolina, and the strength 
of Greenes army, whose continentals alone are at least as 
numerous as I am ; and I could be of no use on my arrival 
at Charles-town, there being nothing to apprehend at present 
for that post; I shall, therefore, immediately march up the 
country by Duplin Court House, pointing towards Hills- 
borough, in hope to withdraw Green ; if that should not 
succeed, I should be much tempted to form a junction with 
you.'' 

The stratagem as to Green failed most signally, and 
Virginia became the theatre of Cornwallis's final overthrow. 

The partisan warfare on the Pedee continued now to rage 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 371 

with unabated fury. Colonel Benton_, wise in counsel and 
efficient in action^ possessed of those peculiar qualities calcu- 
lated to inspire confidence in all who were associated with 
him^ or under his command, was equal to the trying emer- 
gencies of his position. Colonel Murphy, on the eastern 
side of the river below, was battling valiantly ; while Major 
Thomas, and the Captains Sparks, Pledger, Council, M'^Intosh, 
Ellerbe, Pegues, Jackson, and others, on both sides of the 
river, were doing gallant service for their country. A strong 
guard had been placed at Kolb's Ferry, an important point 
on the river, under command of Captain Edward Jones,* 
and continued there until the close of the war. 

The " Bull Pen,^' which stood very near the Ferry, an- 
swered the purposes of a substantial prison house. It was 
often in use. A stockade was also erected at the gaolf on 
Long Bluff, and a guard kept there as occasion demanded. 

In a letter to Marion, of May 1st, Gen. Green cautioned 
him to keep a good look-out for Tarleton, saying : — 
" I think it probable he is in the George-town route ; but 
it is possible he may be on the upper route, as I hear of a 
guard being lately surprised near the Cheraws.^''J Gen. 
Sumpter was then at the Congarees, M'Arthur on his way 
to Camden, and the gallant Lafayette, with a large detach- 
ment from the Northern Army and Pennsylvania line, on 
the march to join the Southern forces. 

Mr. PugVs Journal contains a few brief entries at this 
period : — 

" Tuesday, 17th of April. Had news of the Tories in 
Cashway. 



* The following was one of many accounts rendered in after the warj — 
" State of South Carolina. 

" March 3rd, 1781. Received of Wm. Dewitt, 480 lbs. of pork for use ot 
guard at Kolb's Ferry. 

"Edwaed Jones, 

" Captain of Guard." 
■f- " State of South Carolina, Cheraw District. 

" This raay cei'tify that William Dewitt, Esq., furnished a guard of uiy regt., 
at the Cheraw Gaol, with 2 hogs, 126 lbs. 

" Lem. Benton, 
" Lieut.-Colonel Commandant of Militia. 
" 20th Deer., 1782." 

X Gibbes's " Documentary History," 1781-82, p. GG. 

B B 2 



372 hist(>i;y ov 'imik old cukkaws. 

" Satunlay. :JSth. WtMit to llu> Mill. CVl. Kolh is 
killiHl, !iu(l () or 7 \\\cu by ihc 'I'orirs. 

" I'VldiiY, May -Itli. All ihc nuMi conw home IVodi Cimi. 
Marion's ramp. 

"Tucsilay, 15(11. \Vr lirar (\imiKMi is burnt. British 
pnio." 

'rin> rojHM't of six or sc^vrn intMi kilK-d. bcsicU^s Vo\. Kulb, 
if it uas true, must havr ini'huUul otluTs whowtM'i* nninlrrcil 
by tlio Tmy party on tlu-ir ri-tnrn down the rivor. 

Ill Anj;ust oi' this yiMr. (\)h)ui'l Mur[)hy was stationed, 
with a small tinvo, near tlu> uu)uth of Hhick Civi'U. \\c 
sent word to old Mosrs Bass, \vho ki>pt a noted publii'-honse 
at the mill on IS'aked (^ivek, aeross the river and aln)ut four 
miles distant, that he wonUl be tlu-re with his miMi on a eer- 
tain day, and to have a j;ood dinniM-, with pliMity ot" eider, 
in readiness. By some mi>ans, the Tories in the nei^hl)our- 
hood wen> iul"oruu"d oi' the i>\peeted visit, and made prepa- 
rations lor attai'kiuji: Murphy at Bass's. The house stood 
on a small island, made by a snddiMi bend ot* the ereek, 
forming" almost a circle, and a eanal cut aeross the neek of 
hnul leading out to the main road ni\ir by. 

On the appointeil ilay, Murphy and iiis party went over, 
suspeetiug no danger. 

AVhile at dinner, they were siuldeidy snr[n'ised by the 
enemy's approach. Two men came rapidly up on horseback, 
and were in the act of I'lossing the creek by a causeway when 
first disctncriHl. They wimv followinl by the main body, 
under !Majt)r Bariield. 

Some of the AVhigs, who happened to be on the piazza, 
were tired npim, and tor a moment all was confusion. l^y 
this tinie, the Tories hail approached within tighting distance, 
and the eontlict bigan. 

The Whigs having the benetit of a cover, soon gained a 
decided advantage, killing several of the enemy, with the 
loss, however, of two of their own innnber. Harper and 
Mi\on. C Jiving way under the ett'ective fire from the house, 
the Tories were in the act of retreating, Avhen one of ^Murphy's 
men, named Hanicl, who had a stentorian voice, cried out, 
" (jood Heavens! what shall we ilo? the powder is out." 
Upon lieaving this, the Tories returned to the light ; and the 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 673 

Whigs, no longer able to keep up an equal fire, were foreed 
to eseape in every direction across the creek, to the cover 
of the tliiek timber )>eyond. It ran but a short distance 
in the rear of the dwelling. Reaching it by a few bounds, 
they tumbled down the steep bank, and got off without fur- 
ther loss. 

One of their number, a man named T}iompsf>n, from the 
Poke Swamp settlement, on the west side of the river, as he 
jumped the fence near the creek, found a large and powerful 
mulatto, Shoemakc by name, pressing closely upon him, 
with his rifle aimed and in the act of firing. Ilajipily for 
Thompson, the rifle mis.sed fire, and before it couM be re- 
afljusted, he made his eseape. Twenty years after, Thomp- 
son heard of Shoemakers going to Camden, caught him on 
his return, and inflicted severe punishment. Peter JJoze- 
man, a valiant soldier of liberty, who afterwards settled and 
died in Darlington District, Avas one of Murphy's party. 

Malachi Murphy was another, and received a wound in 
the shoulder as he reached the creek, which disabled him for 
the time. He fell down the bank, and crawling under a 
large log, remained there undiscovered, though the Tories 
several times passed near him. Daniel, whose unfortunate 
exclamation led to the disaster, was a man of powerful frame, 
and carried Murphy on his shoulders to liJack Creek, making 
some amends thereby for his untimely blunder. 

Thus ended their day's frolic for the Whigs, teaching them 
the lesson which so many have learned too late, that vigi- 
lance is the price of liberty. 

The civil affairs of the country were now sadly deranged. 

No Circuit Court had been hold(;n on the Pedee since 
November, 1778, nor had any district officers been ap- 
pointed. The estates of deceased persons were neglected, 
and for orphans no legal provision was made. On the 13th 
of August, Governor Kutledge wrote to General Marion, and 
in the course of his letter alluded to this subject. He said: 
" I think of appointing immediately an ordinary in each 
flistriet, by whom wills may be proved, and letters testa- 
mentary and administration granted ; and other business 
with the ordinary jurisdiction transacted. The Constitution 
directs that this shall be done ; and I think it is a measure 



374 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

absolutely necessary for a number of reasons. I wisb you 
would recommend proper persons, who are able to undertake 
the ofiFice of ordinary for George-town, Cheraws, and Charles- 
town Districts." 

By proclamation of 13th September, appointments were 
made, Claudius Pegues being commissioned ordinary for 
Cheraws District. The Royal Gazette, as it was called, of 
Charles-town, made merry over this business. On the 3rd 
November, it said : " The following proclamation, appointing 
ordinaries in the several districts of the Province, has been 
lately received from the country." Here followed the pro- 
clamation, with these comments : " Most of the persons 
appointed ordinaries are commanders of parties of rebel 
mounted militia. They, and their followers, have, by the 
murders they have committed, afforded sufficient business 
for a Court of Ordinary. Mr. Rutledge seems to think it 
but fair that they should enjoy the fruits of their own labor." 
The time was not far distant when words of bitter sarcasm 
were to be heard in reply ! 

Colonel Murphy, in his active and vigorous movements, 
was giving much trouble to Major Gainey and the Tories 
under his command. The latter addressed General Marion 
on the subject, as follows : — 

" Pedee, September 8th, 1781. 

" Sir, — Your answer of the 5th of September came to 
hand this day, and in perusing the same, I understand that 
your honor wrote to the North Carolinians concerning our 
truce, which I never received or heard of before ; it has mis- 
carried by some means or other. My full desire, Sir, is to 
be at peace with all parties, if they will with me. I am very 
sorry. Sir, to acquaint your honor that I am under the dis- 
agreeable necessity of complaining to you of Colonel Murphy. 
I wrote several orders to him to restore their plunder, which 
they refused to do, except such as is of no service to them- 
selves ; all that is of value they keep, so that I found there 
a stumbling block. The way, just about the time that 
Murphy first broke out and ruined me, and broke me up, 
for which reason, I first revolted my constancy to my 
country, was — he took some horses from me, one of which he 
has yet in his possession ; then I wrote an order, and sent to 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 376 

him for said horse^ whicli he refused to send, without I would 
hunt up and get all his horses which he has lost, wliich was 
six or seven head, he sajs ; and I dou^t know his horses ; 
I never saw them ; and in like manner, they detain several 
horses and negroes, and a number of cows. 

" I have no reason to complain of any of your men, save 
that same regiment of Murphy^s. The list you wrote to me 
about, you shall faithfully have given up very shortly to 
Colonel Irvin's order. 

" I am, with respect. Sir, 

" Your very humble Servant, 

" MiCAJAH GaINEY.'' 

The truce alluded to in this letter grew out of articles of 
agreement concluded on the 17t]i June previous, between 
Colonel Peter Horry, in behalf of General Marion, and Major 
Gainey, commanding officer of the Tories, or King's svibjects 
— inhabitants lying between Great Pedee River and North 
Carolina.^ By these articles, Gainey and his officers agreed 
to lay down their arms and remain neutral, to deliver up 
all those who refused to comply with the treaty, and all 
deserters from the Americans, and also to restore- all negroes 
and other plundered property. The terms of the agreement 
were not strictly complied with by Gainey, and hence the 
course pursued by Colonel Murphy. The continued non- 
observance of their solemn stipulations led to a projected expe- 
dition in June of the next year, concerted between Governor 
Matthews, of South Carolina, and Governor Martin, of 
North Carolina, to subdue Gainey and his party, who were 
marauding in both States. General Marion was to have the 
command ; and as soon as it became known, it brought 
Gainey to terms. At Burch^s Mill, on Pedee, a treaty was 
signed (June, 1782), by which the Tories agreed to lay down 
their arms as enemies of the State, to demean themselves 
thereafter as peaceable citizens, to deliver up all stolen 
property, to apprehend all who did not accede to the 
treaty then made, to take all deserters from the American 
army and deliver them up, to return to their allegiance, and 



* Gibbes's "Documentary History," 1781-82, p. 98. 



376 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

abjure that of his Britannic Majesty. From this treaty, 
Gibson, who killed Colonel Kolb, and Fanning and his party, 
were excepted, but they escaped.* 

In his letter to Marion, Gainey gives a reason for having 
taken up arms against his country. If that which he as- 
signed was the leading motive, and was founded in truth, 
it only proved that, like others, he allowed feelings of 
resentment against an individual, to extinguish every 
patriotic impulse. But his heart was not right in the 
matter, and an excuse was readily framed for his traitorous 
course. As a reward, and because of his influence, doubt- 
less, he was promoted by the British to the position of 
major, which he subsequently filled. He lived six miles 
below the site of the present village of Marion, between 
Cat Fish and the river. His father, Stephen Gainey, was 
an Englishman, and emigrated at an early period to this 
part of Carolina. In person. Major Gainey was large and 
powerful, and in mind above the ordinary standard. He had 
a respectable property, and might have made, if so disposed, 
a most efficient champion of liberty. He was, however, a 
man of violent passions and overbearing disposition, and 
before the Revolution, had made himself obnoxious to many 
of his neighbours. After the war, the feeling against him 
was so strong, that he was compelled to leave, and removed 
to Richmond County, North Carolina. It is said, that fifty 
years after the struggle of the Revolution had ended, there 
were men in Marion who would have killed him on sight. 

An incident may be mentioned in connexion with a mem- 
ber of this family, illustrative of the summary method of 
ending disputes, and of the bloody spirit that marked these 
days. 

Stephen, a brother of Major Gainey, was killed by 
William Dewitt of the same neighbourhood. They had 
agreed upon a race with two noted steeds. The winner 
was to take the horse of his competitor. Gainey won the 
race, and carried off the stakes. Dewitt claimed and took 
back his horse with violent hands, on the ground of some 
unfairness in the race. Gainey succeeded in recovering 



* James's " Life of Marion," pp. 123, 166. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 377 

him, and at the same time took Dewitt, carrying him bound 
to his house. He went to sleep, leaving his prisoner tied. 
Dewitt managed to get loose (by the aid, it was said, of 
his captor's wife), took down Gainey's own gun, and shot 
him dead on the spot. 

In the battle of Eutaw, fought on the 8th of September 
of this year, some of the militia from Pedee took part. 
Among them was Captain Claudius Pegues with his com- 
pany. 

Joshua David, a private, was badly wounded in the hand, 
and permanently disabled, Thomas Quick, also a private, 
a brave and active Whig, was a near neighbour of his cap- 
tain, and warmly attached to him. Before the battle com- 
menced, it was agreed between them, that if either should 
be wounded or killed, the other would take special care of 
him. During the engagement. Captain Pegues was wounded 
in the leg, but continued for some time to maintain his 
ground, seemingly unconscious of the injury he had sus- 
tained. But, bleeding profusely. Quick discovered his con- 
dition as he was about to fall, and with the aid of Nero, a 
faithful body servant of the captain, bore him from the 
field. Quick then requested permission to return, if to take 
only one shot more at the enemy, and resumed his place in 
the ranks. Thomas Quick lived many years after the war, 
and left a son, bearing his name, who was long a worthy 
citizen of Marlborough District. 

On the 17th of September, Governor Kutledge wrote to 
General Marion, informing him that Benton's regiment had 
been allotted to his brigade."^ This jaosition the regiment 
continued to hold to the close of the war. Subsequent re- 
cords show that most of the militia from Pedee were more or 
less in constant service under Marion. On the 23rd of No- 
vember, the Governor inclosed to General Marion writs of 
election for Members of the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives, as embraced within the limits of his brigade. 
Some difficulty was felt in determining upon the best places 
for holding the elections, in the then unsettled state of the 
country. It was left by the Governor to Marion and the 



* Gibbes's "Documentary History," 1781-82, p. 214. 



378 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

managers appointed, to decide. Tristram Thomas, Philip 
Pledger, William Dewitt, and William Pcgues, were four of 
the six representatives elected for St. David's, and took their 
seats in the House, at Jacksonborough, on the 18th of Janu- 
ary following. On the 30th of January, John Wilson was 
appointed Sheriff for Cheraws District. Owing to some 
accident or oversight, he did not receive his commission for 
some time afterwards. In a letter to General Marion, Go- 
vernor Matthews alluded to the subject, saying, " I sent 
Mr. Wilson, the Sherift' for Cheraws, his commission three 
months ago, and am surprised to find he did not receive it. 
Tt must be lying somewhere at George-town; but if he can- 
not get it, I will send him another. However, his not 
having the commission need not prevent him from acting. 
The appointment by the Legislature is the substantial part ; 
the commission is now a matter of form.^'* Among the 
matters to be disposed of at this session of the Legislature, 
was that relating to the banishment of certain persons, and 
the confiscation of their estates. 

On this proscribed list, was the name of Charles Augustus 
Steward. While a bill was pending on the subject, the 
wife of Colonel Steward presented the following petition, 
viz. : — 

" To the Honorable, the Senate of the State of South 
Carolina : 

" The humble petition of Sarah Steward, humbly sheweth : 
That your petitioner is the wife of Charles Augustus 
Steward, of the District of Cheraws, whose name, she is 
informed, is inserted in a list of persons whose estates are 
to be confiscated, and themselves to be banished from this 
State, by a bill now before your Honorable House. Your 
petitioner begs leave to set forth, that her husband, about a 
year ago, returned to South Carolina from Great Britain, 
where he went in the year 1775, with leave of the Honor- 
able House of Assembly ; that ever since the Revolution, he 
has entertained the most warm and friendly attachment to 
the American cause, and on all occasions done every friendly 



* Gibbcs's " Documentary History," 1770-82, p. 191. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 379 

office in his power to relieve American prisoners distressed 
in England, Avliich he has the evidence here to prove. Your 
petitioner assures your Honors, that after her husband^s 
arrival in Charles-town, the Commandant offered him a 
military commission, supposing, from his extensive acquaint- 
ance in the district where he lived, and having been formerly 
a colonel of the militia, that he might have had considerable 
influence over the inhabitants ; but, that he peremptorily 
refused to take up arms against the Americans. 

'^ She also declares, that on his refusal to take a com- 
mission, he was summoned to mount guard as a private in 
the garrison of Charles-town; but he refused this, and said 
he would rather be sent to the Provost ; and that, from 
time to time, he has been, and is now, not only suspected to- 
be an enemy to the British Government, but is shaken off 
by all his acquaintance ; he not only lives retired from 
society in town, but he has been so much distressed 
for want of the necessaries of life, that your petitioner, 
though brought up in ease and affluence, has been for 
months past obliged to the necessity of making shirts, and 
even submitting to drudgery, in order to maintain herself, 
her child, and husband, whose low state of health could not 
permit him to come out of town. 

" Your petitioner now comes before this Honorable 
House, to beg that he and his family may be restored to the 
bosom of this country ; and she implores the mercy and 
protection of her countrymen, in behalf of a husband, who 
has never done a single act of hostility against a country 
that is dear to him, and of which his Avife and child are 
natives. 

" And your petitioner, as in duty bound, &c. 

" Sarah Steward. 

" Jacksonborough, 18tli Feby., 1782." 

The touching appeal of Mrs. Steward was successfid. Her 
husband, once prominent and highly esteemed, but now 
broken in spirit and health, was relieved from banishment, 
and his estate from confiscation. Colonel Steward appears 
to have been possessed of an amiable character and excellent 
traits. 



380 HISTORY or THE OLD CHERAWS. 

His unfortunate error in setting at defiance the resolves 
of the Provincial Congress^ prohibiting the collection of debts, 
Avas the turning point in his political career. The fact of 
his departing soon after for England, and on his return of 
remaining in Charles-town until action was about to be 
taken by the Legislature, doubtless tended to confirm the 
suspicions of the public as to his fidelity to the American 
cause. He again took up his residence on his plantation 
near Cheraw Hill, and died in less than three years after.* 

The Royal Gazette of March 26th, contained the follow- 
ing notice of the action of the Legislature on the Confisca- 
tion Bill, &c. : — 

« Charles-town, March 20th, 1782. 

" The following has been sent to us from the country, 
as a correct list of those persons whose estates have been 
confiscated by an Act of the rebel Assembly at Jackson- 
borough ; — 

" They are divided into six classes. 
" Class I. — Comprehends all British subjects who have pro- 
perty in this country — that is to say, such 
persons as never have submitted to the 
American Government. 
" Class II. — Such of the former inhabitants of this country, 
as presented congratulatory addresses to Sir 
Henry Clinton and Admiral Arbuthnot. 
" Class III. — Those who petitioned to be armed in defence 
of the British Government, after the con- 
quest of this Province. 
" Class IV. — Those who congratulated Earl Cornwallis on 

the victory gained at Camden. 
" Class V. — Those who have borne commissions, civil or 
military, under the British Government, since 
the conquest of this Province. 
" Class VI. — Obnoxious persons.^^ 

Under Class V., the names of Daniel Clary, Robert Gray, 
and William Henry Mills, citizens of Cheraw District, were 



* The following notice appeared in the Columbian Herald ; or, Fairiotic 
Courier of North America, of January 13th, 1785 : — 

" Lately died, at his seat at Fairy H ill, Cheraws, Charles Augustus Steward, 
Esq." 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 381 

included. The latter was banished, and his estate confis- 
cated. He was, years after, known to be in Jamaica, engaged 
in the manufacture of sugar. It is somewhat remarkable, 
up to how late a period he appears to have retained the 
confidence of the people. Before his banishment he became 
very obnoxious. 

The Royal Gazette sometimes made a show of merriment 
at the expense of the Whigs. 

On other occasions, it indulged in bitter sarcasm, as in 
the following announcements of 13th March, 1782, under 
the head of " intelligence extraordinary from Philadel- 
phia " :— 

" The following books are in press there, and will speedily 
be published ; — 

" A Treatise on Bills of Exchange, with observations on 
Protests, according to the newest and most approved methods, 
by Robert Morris, Esq., Financier to the United States. 

" A Dissertation on the difference between Mexican and 
Spanish Milled Dollars, by the same. 

" Killing Tories, no Murder. Embellished with a beau- 
tiful Frontispiece, representing the death of Mr. Dawkins, 
and dedicated, by permission, to his Excellency, General 
Green, by Colonel Wade Hampton. 

" The Sacred Obligation of a Military Parole, stated and 
illustrated, by Brigadier-General Pickens. 

" Ways and Means for the year 1782, by a Member of 
the Assembly at Jacksonborough, with a Supplement by 
John Rutledge, Esq., on the Advantages of Converting 
Indigo into Paper Certificates. 

" A Topographical Description of the Northern Parts of 
South Carolina betwixt Pedee and Santee, illustrated with 
a Map, wherein are accurately delineated all the Thickets 
and Swamps in that Country from an actual survey, by 
Brigadier- General Marion. 

" Select Manoeuvres for Cavalry, to which are added Prac- 
tical Observations on the most soldier-like manner of swim- 
ming rivers on a route, by the same. 

" Description of the Strong Brick Castle at the Eutaws, 
by General Green.'"' 

Had these choice volumes been republished a little while 



382 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

after^ it would liave been with very marked notes and 
emendations,, and a terrible significance. The delay in 
getting them out of press was fortunate indeed ! 

The Government was forced to keep a watchful eye on 
the retention^ for its own use, of the supplies furnished 
within the limits of the State. The removal of cattle had 
excited attention, when Colonel Brown, of the North Carolina 
Militia, was stationed on Pedee for that purpose. On the 
19th of May General Pinckney wrote to General Matthews 
on the subject. 

" Pon Pon, May 19tli, 1782. 

" Dear Sir, 

" By a letter this moment received from General 
Huger, dated the 10th of this month, he desires me to in- 
form your Excellency that a Colonel Perkins, a trader from 
Virginia, has contracted for five or six hundred head of 
cattle on Pedee and Cheraw, and which, in a few days, will 
• ' -off for Virginia if not immediately stopped. The 
^sequences of such a speculation (for our Commissioners 
have it not in their power to go to market with ready 
money), are truly alarming. 

" I am, 
" Your Excellency's most obedient Servant, 

" Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.^' 

The result of the information that was thus given is not 
known. The trial of the Whigs of Pedee, and the story 
of their conflicts with the Tories by day and by night would 
fill a volume, could it be written out in full. The sufferers 
and actors, however, in these scenes have long since passed 
away ; and amid the uncertainties of tradition but little 
which is reliable can be collected. Enough remains to con- 
tinue the narrative through another chapter, and to the 
commemoration of the terrible strife that chapter will be 
devoted. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 383 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Depredations of Tories on Poke Swamp, Jeffrey's, Black, and Lynche's Creeks 
— James Gregg and Chirles Evans among the sufferers — Duke Glen's en- 
gagement — Daniel Hicks's encounter — William Pegues' losses — -John 
Wilson's escape — Skirmishes of Benton's forces — Alexander M'Intosh's 
adventure — His prowess — Close of 1782 — Colonel Benton commands on 
Pedee — His letters to Governor Matthews and General Marion — Marion's 
Brigade — State of feeling between Whigs and Tories — Whigs attack Tories 
between Lumber River and Little Pedee — Colonel M'Ree's adventure — 
William and John Bethea and the Tories — Hawthorne's revenge — Jef. 
Butler, the Tory Captain — Account of him and his punishucient — Andrew 
Hunter's escape from Fanning — Their meeting in Charles-town — Fanning's 
attack on Robert Gregg — Fanning's character and end — Adventure of 
General Harrington — Curious sequel of the same — General Harrington's 
character and death — Singular end of Claudius Pegues — Maurice Murphy — 
Incidents connected with him — His character and end — Tristram Thomas 
—Some account of him — Lemuel Benton — His character delin' ' 
course after the war — Colonel Geoi'ge Hicks — Joshua Amnions — His . 
markable career — His meeting with Lafayette — Jacob Brandler — His un- 
equalled gift to his country— Notice of William Shaw — The close of the 
Revolution — List of some of those from Pedee engaged in active service, 

"Wherever a few defenceless Whigs could be found, or 
superior numbers seemed to promise the foe an easy victory, 
there the Tories hovered around. From the lower settle- 
ments on Lynche's Creek up to the North Carolina line 
above, depredations were committed. 

Among others, Captain James Gregg had been forced, 
for a considerable time, to conceal himself in Poke Swamp, 
where he slept in a hollow log, fed by his family, occasionally 
visiting his residence under cover of darkness. His house 
was eventually burned, his property destroyed, and his wife 
and children turned out of doors. 

Along the borders of JeflFrey^s and Black Creeks many 
similar scenes were witnessed. Those neighbourhoods which 
were remote from the river settlements, and consequently 
weak and exposed from their isolated position, suffered most. 
In these instances a few persons here and there, of property 
and proniinence in the straggle for liberty, were made the 
special objects of this retaliating warfare. The Blakeneys 



384 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

and Evans' on Lynchers Creek, in what is now Chesterfield 
District, had made themselves particularly obnoxious. 
Charles Evans^ was possessed of a good property, and noted 
for his fine stock. On one occasion the British and Tories 
surprised and captured him. His best horses, with other 
property, were taken. Evans himself was securely tied, 
put upon an inferior animal, and carried a prisoner to 
Charles-town, where he remained in confinement until the 
war was over. Near the North Carolina line, bordering 
upon the Cheraw District, many bloody conflicts took place 
with the Tories. Duke Glen, whose name appears before 
the Revolution as a resident of St. David's Parish, removed 
to Anson County, and settled near the mouth of Mill Creek, 
on Pedee. He was a noted captain of the Whig forces in 
this partisan strife, and especially inimical to the Tories. 
The latter had been for some time on the look-out for him, 
and hearing on one occasion of his return, collcc:ted a party 
to surprise and capture him at his own house. 

Fortunately, Glen heard of their plan, and prepared for 
them by gathering a tried company of Whigs. He divided 
his force into three parts, taking the main body into the 
dwelling under his immediate command. One portion was 
stationed in the loft of a stable near the path by which he 
knew the approach would be made, and the rest in ambush. 
They were to let the enemy pass, and upon a signal, to be 
given by Glen, rush up and surround the Tory party. The 
plan was well laid. Of those in the stable loft, the late 
Colonel Benjamin Rogers, of Marlborough, was one. The 
Whigs became so impatient for the attack, as to fire too 
soon, which enabled the Tories to escape in time to save 
themselves from serious loss. Only one of their number 
was wounded ; and he managed to get off a little distance 
and conceal himself through the night. The next morning 
he was followed by his bloody track, found alive and begged 



* Charles Evans was the first husband of the late Mrs. Mary Blakeney, of 
Chesterfield, who continued to reside in that immediate neighbourhood. She 
lived to a very advanced age, and was remarkable for her physical and mental 
vigor and activity to the last. When past eighty, she rode over her plantation 
daily, and superintended in person her own business. Such were the hardy 
characters formed in the_ cradle of the Revolution and the times preceding it. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 385 

for his life^ but William Pratt^ of Anson, seized a gun and 
shot him dead. On the eastern side of the river, near the 
dividing line between Richmond County and what is now 
Marlborough District, lived tAvo young men, named Skipper, 
of mixed blood, but peaceable and inoffensive. They had 
taken parol, however, and for no other offence, were seized 
by the AA^higs on both sides of the line, and hung. Such a 
course was well calculated to excite a feeling of bloody re- 
taliation, and thus the murderous conflict continued. Daniel 
Hicks, a staunch Whig, married the widow of Colonel John 
Donaldson, already mentioned, who died about the year 
1781. Hicks had excited the special hostility of the Tories, 
who laid many plans to capture and kill him. In one 
instance, they collected a party to surprise him at his own 
house, at night. Having notice of their approach, he 
directed his wife to say, that no one was at home but her- 
self. They Avere satisfied Hicks was there, however, and 
threatened to break the door open if she did not admit 
them. It was a desperate emergency, but the fearless 
AA^hig, brave and collected, was equal to it. Directing his 
wife to open the door, and stand behind it, as she did so, 
there was Hicks with his gun ready, but so as not to be 
perceived in the darkness. As the party advanced, he shot 
a Tory, named Brigman, who first presented himself, inflict- 
ing a desperate wound. Suspecting thereupon, that they 
were about to be set upon by a party concealed in the house, 
the wretches immediately fled. Hicks gathered a company 
of his neighbours forthwith and pursued, but not in time 
to overtake them. Brigman was found in the morning, and 
put to death. 

AVilliam Pegues, was an ardent Whig, and suffered 
much from the depredations of the Tories. On one 
occasion as a party of them approached his house, he 
succeeded in making a hasty retreat to the river, and was 
pursued, but by means of a canoe, effected his escape. After 
plundering the dwelling, they set it on fire, and went off, 
taking forty negroes with them, of whom, only a few were 
afterwards recovered. Mrs. Pegues, then in delicate health, 
had to fly with two little children, an infant but a few 
weeks old, and a young negro girl. She remained some 

c c 



386 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

time on the banks of the river, crying for help^ until some 
one from the family of her husband^s father came to her 
relief, taking her helpless party across to a place of safety. 

John Wilson, while on a Whig excursion into North 
Carolina, was taken by the Tories. They started down 
with him from Haley ^s Ferry, having given him the benefit 
of riding an inferior horse. 

After proceeding some distance, he pretended to have 
been hurt in the leg, and putting it across the saddle, rode 
on for some time, apparently in great agony. His guard 
having become careless, allowed him to fall someAvhat be- 
hind, which he soon managed to increase to a respectable 
distance, when, putting spurs to his horse, he succeeded in 
making his escape. 

The troops under Colonel Benton were engaged at diffe- 
rent times in skirmishes with the Tories on Black Creek. 
On one occasion, a detachment of Benton's forces, and those 
of a Captain Baker, of Georgia, united against the foe. 
The former happening to be sick, requested Baker to take 
command. The Whigs were at breakfast when the enemy 
came upon them near the ferry on Black Creek, on the 
George-town and Cheraw Bead. Thrown for a moment 
into confusion, they soon rallied, and forced the Tories to 
retreat, pursuing them some distance. Several of the 
latter were killed, and some wounded too severely to escape. 
Among the killed, was a DuBose, the only one of a very 
large connexion who took sides against his country. A 
noted Tory, Hughes, was one of the wounded. When the 
Whigs returned from the pursuit, and were about to des- 
patch him, he pleaded for mercy, and urged that he had often 
fed the Whigs. The commanding officer replied, that if he 
could prove this, he would be spared. Peter DuBose con- 
firmed the statement, but added, that he had fed them with 
the provisions of the Whigs. The old offender was spared- 
his age probably touching the hearts of his captors. He 
had been shot on former occasions, and several times left 
for dead. He was once hung by a Whig, named Baxter, 
at Daniel DuBose's, to a gate-post. Thus left suspended, 
his wife came to the rescue, and finding him still alive, cut 
the rope and saved his life. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEEAWS. 387 

Another skirmisli took place about this time^ higher up 
on Black Creek^ Colonel Benton commanding. The Tories 
"svere routed and fled^ but being overtaken and surrounded, 
were forced to make a hand to hand fight, suflFering very 
severely. Colonel Benton had no fire arms except his 
pistols. One man, pressed by the colonel, turned about, 
and was in the act of firing his musket, but, before he could 
do so, Benton discharged his pistol at him, missing him, 
however, then thi'ew it at him and knocked him from his 
horse to the ground. 

In another skirmisli on Black Creek, at a point nearest 
Society Hill, Captain Alex. M'lntosh,"^ then a young man, 
commanded the Whigs. A brother of Mcintosh was 
wounded, and the latter, excited to desperation, killed every 
Tory he caught. On this occasion, Hughes was wounded. 
M'Intosh comiDg up, fired his pistol at him, but did not 
kill him, and desisted from any fiu'ther attempt upon his 
life. Captain M'^Intosh was a man of large size, and ex- 
traordinary strength and activity. He is said, in one 
instance, when hotly pursued by the Tories, to have leaped 
his horse across Black Creek. Many incidents have been 
handed down of his personal prowess, some of them in this 
age almost passing the bounds of credibility. A noted 
character, known long after as Old Mrs. Croly, lived about 
this time two miles below Society Hill, afterwards in 
the flat woods on Black Creek. She often harbored the 
Tories. John Lucas and a few other Whigs once found a 
party of Tories at her house, who managed to escape. Lucas 
took her out, and was about to hang her, when Captain 
iM'Intosh and Major John Mikell came up, and by their 
intercession, caused her to be released. Thus the year 
1782 opened, and advanced. The region of the Pedee was 
left open to the incursions of the Tories ; but, unsupported 
as they were by any neighbouring British force, their allies, 
were for the most part unsuccessful, and gradually the 
light began to dawn upon Carolina, which was soon to grow 
into a bright day of emancipation from a foreign yoke, 

* Captain M'lutosh held many offices of trust in after life, but was not a good 
manager. He lost his property and died about the year 1828. He was the 
executor of General M'Intosh. George M'lutosh, formerly of Marlborough 
District, was his only surviving son. 

c c 3 



388 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHEEAWS. 

and of a government of their own. Lieut. -Colonel 
Benton was now the principal leader on the Pedee. He 
had many difficulties to contend against^ some of which 
were pressing him sorely. In the following letter to Gov. 
Matthews^ while he pays a justly merited tribute to the 
inhabitants of St. David's, touching allusion is made to 
certain evils from which they were now suffering. 

" St. David's, Great Pedee, August 20th, 1782. 
"Sir, — Though I have not the honor of a personal acquain- 
tance with you, I am now under the necessity of humbly 
addressing you on this manner, in behalf of the Parish and 
Regiment I have the honor to represent and command ; a 
people that have ever stood among those who are foremost 
for their inflexible attachment to their country; suffered 
many capital distresses, nor have ever despaired of success 
in our greatest extremity. Although we have so long been 
at such a distance from the enemy's lines, and stiffering every 
murder, plundering, and cruelty that could be perpetrated by 
a banditti of the most desperate villains and mulattoes, im- 
mediately bordering on our settlements, we have, on all 
occasions, turned out, and kept in General Marion's camp 
equal numbers with any in his brigade. Part of those who 
were under a truce that have not surrendered, and many 
other villains in this part of the country, that still continue 
tlieir outrages, render the lives and property of the good 
citizens very unsafe ; and this disorder, in all probability, 
must continue, and the re-establishment of good order and 
civil law be hindered, except you, in your goodness, will in- 
dulge my regiment with a sufficient guard to the gaol, 
as it is insufficient for its use ; with orders for supplies of 
provisions for that and the poor inhabitants ; and an armed 
party to detect and bring to punishment the refractory and 
disobedient, which my warm desire for that purpose will in- 
duce me to engage to have punctually performed, with all 
due moderation, for the good of this country, and agreeably 
to any instructions you may think proper to give me ; which 
I could do, and keep one-fourth on the field on common 
occasions, and on extraordinary emergencies with cheerful- 
ness turn out one-half. My feelings will not let me omit 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 389 

mentioning to you some characters, among them, of Mr. 
Gainey^s truce men, who have been received by General 
Marion as citizens, and are now doing miHtary duty, and 
enjoying equal privileges with youi* best soldiers and citi- 
zens, who have borne the burden and heat of the day. 
Such, I mean, as were meant to be exempted by an Act of 
the late General Assembly at Jacksonborough — men, who 
have burned, plundered, and in cold blood (after many of 
our worthiest men had surrendered as prisoners of war), in 
the most ignominious and cruel manner, taken their lives, 
particularly Colonel Abel Kolb^s, my worthy predecessor, 
and a gentleman formerly a member of the Assembly, a 
justice of the peace, a good officer, and a useful citizen, and 
capital loss to this part of the country : and the very vil- 
lains that perpetrated this wanton, horrid murder, burning 
and plundering, are now, in the face of his distressed family 
and friends, received and restored to equal privileges with 
the men who have suffered everything by them that it was 
in their power and savage disposition to inflict. 
" I am. Sir, 
" Your most obedient and very hvimble Servant, 

" Lemuel Benton, 
" Lieut.-Col. Commanding Cheraw Militia. 

" N.B. — Your answer and instructions I shall hope to 
receive by the bearer. Mi*. Vinow, in regard to the above. 
I do not doubt but General Marion will acquiesce in it, as 
I mentioned the matter to him not long since, about provi- 
sions, men, and ammunition. 

'• If you will be so kind as to furnish us with the Militis 
laws, passed by the last Assembly, it will be of singular ser- 
vice, and the people and myself will be instructed."* 

Governor Matthews appears to have been sufficiently im- 
pressed by this letter to address the following brief note to 
General Marion : — 

" Uxbridge, August 24th, 1782. 

" Sir, — I enclose you a letter I have just received from 



* Gibbes's " Documentary History," 1776-82, pp. 207-203. 



390 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Lieut. -Col. Benton, and wish you to take such orders therein 
as you shall think proper. 

" I am, Sir, 
" Your most obedient, humble Servant, 

" John Matthews.^^* 

What specific orders, if any, this communication of Col. 
Benton induced, is not known. Doubtless Gen. Marion did 
all in his power for the inhabitants of the Upper Pedee. 

A few days after. Col. Benton addressed the general 
again : — 

" St. David's, August 29th, 1782. 

" Sir, — Yours from Watbo, of the 18th inst., I received, 
and in answer, I assure you, that I have constantly been, 
since my arrival at home, and still am, using my utmost 
endeavors to send you the full one-third of ray regiment. 

" The twenty men with whom I had your permission to 
guard the jail, have been constantly on hard duty, catching 
and bringing in the disobedient ; so that, inclusive of what 
you have lately ordered and the guard will bring you, in 
addition to Major Thomases class, there will be at least fifty 
men ; and I hope to have it in my power, about the 3rd of 
next month, to send you some more, as I expect by that 
time to have another squad gathered. 

" But, without this armed party to be constantly on duty, 
and monthly relieved, I cannot do anything ; for the dis- 
trict is so extensive, the duty so hard, and the distance to 
your camp so great, that it can^'t be expected that the men 
who have just been discharged from your camp can perform 
that duty. This mode would have been better executed if 
the commanding officer of my regiment at home, when I 
was in the camp, had not have hindered part of my orders 
(that was in his power) for that purpose. There are but 
fourteen of the twenty men mentioned that are at this time 
fit for duty, six of whom I send with the party, and the 
others will come with the next I have mentioned ; though, 
I hope, you will send them back, as the law cannot be en- 
forced without them. The people are, at this time, very 



* Gibbes's " Documentary History," 1776-82, p. 214. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 391 

sickly about home, as has appeared by the trials of a num- 
ber of men by a regimental court I lately ordered, and held 
four days, when I used every lawful and reasonable method 
in my power to turn out the men. There are several men, 
whom the guard will bring down, sentenced to some 
extraordinary duty, a list of whose names, and their term of 
service, I will send to Major Thomas. 

" I am. Sir, with all due respect, 

" Yoiir obedient, humble Servant, 

" Leml. Benton, 

' " Colonel.* 

" N.B. — If you permit me to continue the guard at the 
jail, please to give some instructions about salt, &c., for 
them, as it is scarce here.''^ 

To what commanding officer reference is made in this 
letter, is not known. Petty jealousies doubtless affected 
some who were otherwise patriotic. It was a happy cir- 
cumstance for the people of this region, that a man of the 
firmuess and unfaltering devotion of Benton was left to 
plead and defend their cause. 

Again he writes to Marion a letter of the san^e date with 
the foregoing : — 

« St. David's, August 29tli, 1782. 

" Sir, — Yours from Watbo I answered, and expect it will 
be handed you with this, as also yours from Lind's Ferry, 
of the 26th, which is just come to my hands. 

" One-third of my regiment I have under orders to join 
you, aud expect with this will come in about fifty men, in 
addition to Major Thomases division ; and those that may 
remain behind I will send with all possible expedition, so 
that if in my power the public service may not be hindered. 
As to the men being relieved monthly, it is so late now 
that it will be impossible for me to get them in camp until 
near the middle of the ensuing month. 

" I am very sensible that it will make a considerable 
confusion in the regiment, as the men do not look upon 
themselves liable to go to camp yet, and the law will not 

* Gibbes's "Documentary History," 1776-82, pp. 214, 215. 



392 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

oblige tliem until each division does two months^ duty agree- 
ably to law ; therefore^ I must beg to be excused in that 
particular, and I will send relief early in October, when their 
tour will be out, according to law. 

" I remain, with all due regard, 
" Your most obedient Servant, 

" Leml. Benton, 
" Lieut.-Col. Commandant.''^ 

" N.B. — Excuse my paper, &c., which hindered me from 
writing more fully. 

" L. B.^' 

Marion^s brigade consisted about this time of the follow- 
ing regiments : Lieutenant-Colonel M'Donald^s, Cols. Rich- 
ardson's, Irvin's, Benton's, and the regiment formerly 
Maybank's. 

Of the efficient service it performed in the closing work 
of the Revolution it is needless to speak. Upon Colonel 
Benton's command devolved the additional duty of pro- 
tecting an extensive territory from the incursions of the 
Tories. 

The Whigs, however, were not to suffer much longer, for 
the protracted struggle of the patriots of Carolina was now 
drawing rapidly to an end. The evacuation of Charles-town, 
though officially announced by General Leslie as early as 
the 7th of August, was not to take place until the 13th of 
December, 1782. 

Nothing of special note occurred on the Pedee during the 
remainder of the year. The conflict with the Tories did not 
cease at once with the withdrawal of the British forces. 
The state of feeling was too intense, the animosities which 
had been engendered were too deadly to be suddenly done 
away. 

Old feuds were to be settled and retaliations inflicted, 
until, by degrees, a state of internal peace and quiet was 
restored. In the skirmishes which subsequently took place, 
the Tories were the sufferers. Of these some traditional 
accounts remain. 



* Gibbes's " Documentary History," 1776-82, p. 216. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 393 

In the fork between Lumber River and Little Pedee was 
a noted band of Tories, who continued to hold out against 
the Government, even after it became firmly established. A 
party of Whigs, consisting, with others, of Jordan Gibson, 
William and Thomas Neville, Enos Tart, John Bethea, sen., 
John Bethea, jun., and Levi Odom, banded together to 
bring these outlaws to terms. A man named Courtney, who 
had acted as commissary for the enemy in these parts, was 
particularly obnoxious to the Whigs. They had often tried 
to take him, but in vain. He was in the habit of going to 
old Shoemakers, a noted Tory, and at length, this Whig 
party in passing found him there. Shoemake lived in an 
open field, and in order to make sure of Courtney, his pur- 
suers stationed themselves at some distance around. Court- 
ney, seeing their approach, attempted to escape on his horse, 
which was a very fleet animal. He came first upon Gibson, 
who fired, but missed him. He then approached Tart, who 
took better aim, and broke his leg, bringing him to the 
ground. As they gathered around him, Odom, who was a rela- 
tive of the Betheas, and had served as a soldier in Virginia, 
called on the Nevilles to shoot the wounded man, but they 
refused. He then said if no other would he would shoot 
him himself, and did so, putting an end to his life. Long 
afterwards, when sick and in delirium, Odom was seen to 
exhibit the utmost terror at the vision of the bloody victim 
of his revenge. 

Proceeding from this place, the Whigs, having reached 
the neighbourhood of the Tories, succeeded in capturing 
several, and determined to execute them without delay. 
But, the alarm being given, a sufficient number gathered 
from the adjacent country to rescue the prisoners, and bring 
their captors to treat with them. The result was that the 
Tories, satisfied by this demonstration of the fate that 
awaited them should they persist in their course of opposi- 
tion, agreed to submit to the Government of the State, and 
henceforth keep the peace. The agreement continued to 
be observed, and no further difficulties of consequence oc- 
curred in this locality. 

On the east side of the river, in the neighbourhood of 
Poke Swamp, Colonel M^Ree resided after the war. In 



394 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

company with two others, he succeeded in capturing one 
Bradley, a Tory, who had been guilty of notorious depreda- 
tions. M'Ree tied him, and carried him to his house. Soon 
after their arrival, a party approached for the purpose ot 
rescuing Bradley, one of them^ Lewis Johnson, firing upon 
M'Ree as he sat in his door, but without effect. M^Ree, 
immediately closing the door, seized his guu^ and from a 
window shot Johnson and killed him. 

Bradley was taken the next day to George-town gaol, 
but afterwards escaped. He was subsequently arrested and 
hung. During the war several Tories, hearing that William 
Bethea, who lived near the present dividing line between 
Marlborough and Marion Districts, had a large quantity of 
money concealed in his house, set out for the purpose of 
securing the treasure. They found Bethea at home ; but 
he had taken the precaution to select some other place of 
security for the fruits of his labor. They used every means 
to extort the secret from him, and as a last expedient, poured 
melted pitch upon his head, but all in vain. They found 
he would pay the penalty with his life, and left without 
further molestation. Some time after, and when the revo- 
lutionary struggle was over, John, a son of William Bethea, 
met Snowden, who was one of this marauding party, in the 
woods, and without difficulty overpowered him. With a 
loose bridle w^hich he happened to have, he attempted to 
hang his victim, but was not able to get him suspended high 
enough. He then broke his legs, and carried the murderous 
design into execution. Bethea, commonly known as " Sweat 
Swamp John,^^ because of his residence thereon, was a man 
of remarkable strength and activity. On a previous occasion, 
he met at night a Tory, who was also a man of much 
physical power, but, after a short struggle, succeeded in 
tying him, putting him on his horse, and carrying him as 
a prisoner to Colonel Hicks. 

Another singular instance of revenge is related as having 
occurred in this neighbourhood. A Whig, named Hawthorne, 
was plundered and murdered by a party of seven Tories. 
His son took a vow that he would not sleep on a bed or 
eat at a table until he had killed five of the seven. He 
pursued them for years, and followed one or more of them 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 395 

to Tennessee^ and is said actually to have fulfilled his vow 
to the letter. 

In the neighbourhood of the DuBoses, on Lynchers Creek, 
was a famous Tory captain, Jef. Butler. He had been guilty 
of many acts of plunder, and at different times treated the 
family of Elias Du Bose with great rudeness and cruelty. 
William Dick, a brother-in-law of Mr. Du Bose, who moved 
to that neighbourhood after the war, went to Butler's with 
a small party, and found him on the ridge pole of a corn 
crib which he was covering. Dick ordered him down, and 
upon Butler's refusal to obey, knocked him off" with an ear 
of corn. He was then tied and carried to DuBose's resi- 
dence, and upon being confronted with Mrs. DuBose, denied 
having ever seen her. She knew him, however, too well. 
He was then taken out, tied up, severely whipped, and told 
if he did not leave the country in a given number of days, 
he would be dealt with more severely. Knowing what the 
result would be, he went off* without delay, and was never 
heard of afterwards. As a Tory leader, the courage and 
ferocity of Butler were well known on the Pedee. 

" During the Whig ascendancy," says Sabine, " in that 
part of South Carolina, he went into Marion's camp at 
Birch's Mills, and submitting himself, claimed the protection 
which the Whig officer had granted to some other Loyalists 
who had preceded him. 

" Against this some of Marion's officers, whose friends had 
suffered at Butler's hands, protested. But Marion took the 
humbled Butler to his own tent, and declared that he would 
protect him at the hazard of his own life. The officers, 
still determined to indulge their hatred, sent their com- 
mander an offensive message, to the effect that Butler should 
be dragged from his tent, and that to defend such a wretch 
was an insult to humanity. Marion was not to be intimi- 
dated ; and though the meeting among his followers threat- 
ened to be formidable, he succeeded in conveying Butler, 
under a strong guard, to a place of safety."* 

How far the account of this partial writer is to be relied 
upon is very questionable. One thing, at least, the course 



* Sabine's " American Loyalists," p. 189. 



;>|)l) iiisr(>UY ov riiK o\.v cukuaws. 

o{ rviMits suhscMHUMitly provcnl, that iMitliM" was not so 
fortiMKiti^ upon tiillinj;- into tlu> liaiids of llu" A\ liij;s o[' 8t. 
Ujvvid's, who. hut tor liis tiiiudv riMiioval, wouhl have niado 
him pay the t'ortiMt of his Hfi\ 

Towanls ihv hittor part of the war, Andn^w llunti-r, of 
St. havid's. was tho i'hii>f actor in coniuwion with tlir wrll- 
Ivuoun advcntiirr whiih i;avi' him rrU4)rity. Iluntrr was a 
ht)hl juid ihuiiii;' spirit, aiul had {i'onr on the ofi'asion ro- 
ftMM'inl to, with a small fori'O. in st^arch of tho notorious 
l'\iuninj;', on Orownini;" Crock, North (\u'oliiia. l-'anninj;- 
uiot him with a uuu'li hu'i;or party than lie was supposi>il to 
have at tin* tinu\ Tlu" Whijjs wore soon routed, and then 
eommem'Oil the menu)rahK' llii^ht. Ilnnti'r roih^ a tavtirite 
mare, ami relied on her tleetm>ss to save hin\. Ihit Kauniufj;, 
moui\ted on as fast a horse, and with better hottoiu, as the 
result proviul. sinj;liHl out Hunter as his special object of 
pursuit. The chase was loufj;, and exeitiui;' in the extreme. 
At hMii^th the mare failed, and Fanninj; overtook and cap- 
tuied her riiler. SmiM'al of his men soon i\unc up, and all 
ilismounting, maile themselves luiMi-y at the e\|)euse of the 
discomtitiul NVhi^", who hail en,:;aiii>d in the luckless adven- 
tun\ The whole jiarty sat carelessly about for souu> 
tinu\ restiuii; themselves aud their horses. At hMi<;th 
Hunter, who knew it to be a ease o( life or death with him, 
haviuii" watcheil his oppiu'tunity . mana-icd to p-t m>ar iMiouiih 
to leaji astride the horse of Fanuinir, and put tiuii; spurs, very 
uneerenji>uiimsly bade his eapti>rs adiiMi. A t'cw shots were 
tired at him. but without etlect, as they were ainuHl hii;h in 
i>rder to save the Imrse. 

Hunter had I'alled his mare the Hcil noi\ aud ever after 
the luu-sc was known by the nanu' t»f the IuhI Huek. After 
the war, Hunter aud Fanning nu>t in Charlcs-towu. Fauuing 
ilemandcd his horse, which Hunter hail ridden down, aud 
high words passed befwecu them. .Fanning clialhM\ged 
Hunter to tight. The latter, having choice of wcainms and 
the n\0{\c oi' combat, agreed to meet his adversary the next 
morning, on horseback, with swords, on the green near the 
city. It was so(.>n noised about, and many persons assembled 
the following day to witiu^ss the novel encounter. Hunter 
rode out on the Hed Buck. But Fanning^ afraid at heart 



IIISTOIIY OF THE OLD ClfKIlAWS. 397 

to meet one wIkj was as active and powerful as he was fear- 
less, (11(1 not make liis ap[)earan(.*e, and kept out of sight 
(hiriuf^ Ilunter^s stay in town. Afterwards, Fanning brouglit 
an action, in Darlington, for the horse, hut failed to g(it a 
verdict. Hunter was suhse(juently elected a member of 
the Legislature from Darlington. He died in liis sixty- 
second year. 

On one of his expeditions for the recapture of his liorse. 
Fanning made not a few of the scattered VVliigs along his 
route feel the effects of his vengeance. Jiobert Gregg, a 
bnjther of Captain James Ciregg, was on(5 of tlie sufferers. 
Upon Fanning's approach to his house, Ciregg attempted to 
shoot him, but his gun snaj)p(id. He then endeavoured to 
make his escape to the swamp, which was near by, but 
was finjd upon and sevepijty wounded in the hip. He fell, 
and being covered with blood, [jiayed his part so well as tlie 
Tories eame up, that they supposed him to be dead, and left 
without further molestation. He continu(;d a erip|)le for life. 

Fanning was a notorious marauder, of considerable 
talent, but reckless and sanguinary in disposition. When 
Marion admitted Major (Jainey and the band of fjoyalisls 
and Tories under him to terms. Fanning was s-pecially ex- 
cluded. Jiut both he and his wife succeeded in reaching 
Charles-town, which was tlien in possession of the Royal 
troops, in safety. IVevious to his flight to the coast, he 
made a fruitless attempt to reanimate the friends of the 
Crown, with whom he possessed influence. There was, in 
the region to which he bekjnged, no m(jre determined enemy 
of the Whigs and the cause of liberty. He lived to a great 
age, and died not very many years since, it is believed, in 
Canada.''*' 

A singidar incident is related (jf General Harrington. 
He had been on a visit to his family in Richmond County, 
and was returning with his aids to his command at Cross 
Creek. When not very far from the end (/ his journey, 
and within a mile or two of M'Kay^s, a place (jf public en- 
tertainment, he directed his aids to go on there, turning ofl' 
himself from the main road, to spend the night with an old 



* Sabine'B " Americun LoyaliatH," p. 2S2. 



398 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

friend. Early the next morning, while on the way to 
M'Kay^s, and alone, he was suddenly accosted by a man, 
very near him, who, protected by a tree, should the general 
attempt to discharge his pistol, presented his gun, and 
ordered him to dismount. Thus taken by surprise, and 
completely in the power of the robber, there was no alter- 
native but to obey the command. 

The general accordingly dismounted, and asked what was 
wanted. He was told to deliver up his money. The general 
put down five guineas ; and being questioned, assured him 
it was all he had on his person. Upon which, having eyed 
alternately for a moment or two the general and the money, 
turning the latter about in his hand, he returned three of 
the guineas, with the remark, that their owner looked like a 
man who would need some money to get along with. He 
then told the general to walk off, and not attempt to mount 
his horse or touch his holsters until he had gone more than 
a hundred yards, or he would shoot him on the spot. Sub- 
sequently, on the removal of his quarters to a point near 
Wilmington, this individual, with others, was brought in a 
prisoner to General Harrington's camp. They immediately 
recognised each other, but without any expression of the 
fact, until after this man, with several other of the pri- 
soners, had been tried and condemned to death. 

General Harrington, thinking from what had transpired 
on the road, that there were some peculiar circumstances 
connected with him, and that he was not the abandoned 
villain which such an act of highway robbery would seem 
to indicate, took him aside and questioned him closely. In 
explanation of his course, he said that he lived in a neigh- 
bourhood where all had taken British protection, or were 
Tories, and that it was impossible for him to remain there 
and be anything else, pleading extreme necessity for the 
robbery. Upon being asked if he was willing to swear 
allegiance to his country and serve under General Harring- 
ton throughout the war, on condition of his life being 
spared, he replied that he was ; and thereupon took the 
oath, and proved himself ever after faithfully devoted to the 
general, and a true soldier of liberty. 

After the war, General Harrington was elected a member 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 399 

of the Legislature of North Carolina^ and in that and other 
positions of trusty served his adopted State with unswerving 
fidelity. Strongly inclined, however, to retirement, he 
rather avoided than sought the excitements and distinctions 
of public life, and gave his latter years to the peaceful pur- 
suits of agriculture, the cultivation of the social relations, 
and the sweets of domestic life. Happily constituted for 
contributing to the endearing pleasures of home, he was 
peculiarly blessed in having to share with him in those de- 
lights, one who was not more admired for her understanding 
and excellence of character, than beloved universally for 
those beautiful traits by which the life of woman in every 
relation is adorned. 

In person. General Harrington was small, but well 
formed and handsome. His education was good, and his 
mind highly cultivated. After a life of eminent public ser- 
vice and private virtue, he died at his seat in Richmond 
County, on the 31st of March, 1809, in the sixty-second 
year of his age ; spoken of in the papers of the day, " as an 
active and useful officer, who had acquired honor in the 
Revolution, which secured to this country its indepen- 
dence.^^ 

One of the friends of his earlier and later years, Claudius 
Pegues, of Marlborough, preceded General Harrington to 
the tomb. Mr. Pegues was too advanced at its commence- 
ment to take an active part in the war, presenting to his 
country, however, a son, who bore his name, to render gal- 
lant service in that cause to which he was ardently devoted. 
A singular circumstance is related in connexion with his last 
moments. Residing at the time alone, he sent for both of his 
sons, and told them he would die that day, although walk- 
ing about the house, and apparently in his usual health. 
After conversing with them some time, and while they were 
talking together on the subject, he took up an arm-chair, 
moved it a little, and seating himself, quietly breathed his 
last. 

Colonel Maurice Murphy, of whom such frequent and 
honorable mention has been made, continued, after the Re- 
volution, to serve his country, as opportunity offered, to the 
close of his life. He was a bad manager, and never pos- 



400 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

sessed mucli property. On one occasion^ when in Charles- 
town, he was arrested for debt^ and while in jail-bounds^ met 
on the streets one Harrison^ who had taken many negroes 
from the region of the Lower Pedee during the French and 
Indian war, and was then a resident of St. Augustine, 
Colonel Murphy rushed on him with his sword^ saying that 
he had taken from him property to a larger amount than 
the debt for which he was then confined, and that if he did 
not pledge himself to cancel the debt and costs, he would 
kill him on the spot. Well knowing Murphy's determina- 
tion, the alarmed and con science- stricken Harrison at once 
acceded to the demand, and forthwith carried his promise 
into execution. In passing Jeffrey's Creek, on his return 
from Charles-town, it happening to be a muster-day. Colonel 
Murphy saw in the ranks one who had been a noted Tory, 
and by whom he had probably been made to suffer. Excited 
by the recollections of the past, he leaped from his horse 
and made rapidly towards him, the man only escaping from 
severe chastisement or death by instant flight. These in- 
stances show that Murphy was of quick and ungovernable 
passion ; and yet, notwithstanding the violence of his 
temper and occasional dissipation, he maintained a cha- 
racter for generosity and integrity, commanding always the 
confidence of the people, and ever retaining a high place in 
the popular regard for his active and devoted services 
throughout the war. There was no more gallant or devoted 
Whig on the Pedee. In person he was straight as an arrow, 
rather bald, and of great physical strength. His end was 
a sad one. Imprisoned for debt, he died in the jail at 
Long Bluff; a touching example of the charge often made, 
of the ingratitude of Republics ! 

Tristram Thomas was a name respected and honored by 
all classes on the Pedee. General Thomas was modest and 
retiring in disposition, but firm and decided whenever prin- 
ciple was involved in the conduct of life. Sturdy by habit, 
and resolute in character as circumstances might demand, 
he was happily fitted by nature for the perils and labors of 
the Revolution. The discouragements to which the actors 
of that stormy period were often subjected, never unnerved 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 491 

or intimidated his soul. Possessed of a solid understanding, 
a practical turn of mind, and virtuous principles, he faithfully 
discharged the duties incumbent uj)on him in every station 
to which he was called in the administration of the affairs 
of his own district and the councils of the State. He was 
the first Brigadier-General on the Pcdee after the war. He 
lived to a good old age, uni^ ersally esteemed, and died at 
his residence* in Marlborough District, in 1817. 

Lemuel Benton, the compeer of Thomas, and the succes- 
sor of Kolb as commander of the forces on the Pedee, was 
a man of very marked character. His early opportunities 
of improvement were quite limited, but with talents of a 
superior order, and an energy that flagged under no diffi- 
culties, he rose by the native force of mind and character 
to a position of commanding influence. Ardent in feeling, 
and of strong and violent passions, he was a bitter enemy 
and as fast a friend. He had the peculiar faculty, which 
few possess, of gaining the confidence of the masses and 
leading them at will. As a stump-speaker he had no 
superior in his day. On more than one occasion he con- 
ducted his own defence in Court with signal success. This 
talent as a speaker, with his efficient military services, was 
the means of securing him a seat in Congress as the first 
member from the Pcdee District. He encountered a strons: 
opponent in a Mr. Wilson of Williamsburg, a gentleman of 
popular manners and influential connexions, but unequal 
to Colonel Benton before the people, and hence doomed to 
defeat. Previously to this election Colonel Benton had 
been returned as one of the first two members of the Legis- 
lature from Darlington. At the next canvass for Congress, 
tAvo years after, he was opposed by Benjamin Huger, of 
George-town, and defeated. The fact that he had opposed 
Mr. Adamses administration probably contributed to this 
result. His career as a public man was now closed. 
Colonel Benton was about six feet in height, stout, but well 
formed, and of handsome and commanding person. He 
died at his residence in Darlington about the year 1819. 



* General Thomas lived at the place now known as EUerbe's Mills, near the 
public road leadmg from Society Hill to Beunetsville. 

D D 



402 HisroivY (>K ruK o\ai cukuaws. 

Colom^l (uHn'j;o Hii'ks sucvivinl tlu> lu>\ t>luti()n scviM'iil 
voivrs, tlu>ui;li !ul\;im"i>(l in iii;i". I'lom iUc (iim* (>t" liis iMui- 
jjratioii ti) iUc W'iU'c he ti>ok i» luj;l» position in (!u> couli- 
(Umut ami I'sti-iMH o( i\\v \)vo\Ac. lit' uas tlistini;uislu>il for 
piiritv, luMirvoliMUw siml i^riirral lAcollriu't' oi' cliariu'tcr. 
luMiiaikablv cousidiM'ato and liinuaut\ I'ousi'itMitious and t'aitli- 
t'ul ii\ till' disrhari;i' t)t" I'ViM'v trust, his iHMirsi> tl\i'o»ii;li lilo 
was sui'li as to inspire universal rouani, and to call t'ortli 
tlio uuatUH-tcd roi;rots of all riassi's at his di>|)artuii' fVotn 
t'arth. llis uanit' never (vasi>d to hr iniMitioniHl with atliH'- 
tionate veni'iation bv those ot" his eonten>|HU'aries who snr- 
vivtHl hin»- an example ot" thi' kimi ^hieh has si-UK>»n hei-n 
known. 

A name >\hieh should ever he rtMuendxM'eil with respect 
by the ilcscemlants o[' the \N hii;s oi' St. PaAid's, is that of 
Joshua Amuu)ns. Ot" humble [>rctcusii)us thn>Uiih life, tliis 
man won t'i)r himselt" a |H>siti(>n seeiuul to no othei' t"or ai'tive 
and um'casiui;- dcvt)tiou to tlu> cause ot" libiM'ty. lie emi- 
^rateil t"rom Maryhuul and settled before the war in what 
is m»w M«rlboit)Uiih IHstrict. but a feu miles t"iom tlu' [)re- 
seut county seat. Tv'o tmo on the I'edcc, perhaps, took u 
uu>re varied part, ov at uuu'c distant points in the revolu- 
tionary stvujiji'lc. Ill' appears to have been almost ubiqui- 
tous. Kuiiaii'cd actively in the partisan Avarfarc under 
Marion; then in the Continental lino ; in most of the battles 
oi' Carolinii, and under Lafayette's commaiul when hasten- 
ing; to join AVashiniitou before \ ork-town, he was continu- 
inisly in the tield, actinj;' n\ost of the tinu' as (>rderly-scr- 
gount. It was while on the march of Tjafaycttc, between 
(^harlottesville ami Scottsville, \ iri;inia, when he eiu'ountered 
the Uritish army which had been stationed on the route to 
iuteivept his proi;ress, that the gallant Frenclnuan received 
a severe wound. Mr. .Vmmons happened to be near the 
person of the j;eucral when he f'ell, and was the lirst to 
reach him. lie bore his I'ommandcr from the lield, placiui; 
him under the shade of a tree. In IS.'Jt, when Lat"ayette 
visited .Vmerica us the nation's j»;uest, and journeyed to the 
southward, Joshua Aninunis, with many otheis, hastened 
to the North Carolina line to meet the noble old chief. 
llo was introduced to Ijafavette as ti soldier of the Kevolu- 



HISTORY OF TUM OLD CIIKUAVVS. -lO.'J 

tioii, !ui(l one wIh) liad horin; liirri fV<jrri ilic, ("n-ld wlicii Ik; 
was wounded near ScottHvillc. TIh; mumk; w;is slill familiar 
to liis car/ but tlio [x^rsoii of the lnunljli; tsoldier (orj^ottcii. 
Milt this (lid not niatt(;r. 'i'he past rushed ii|)on him in an 
instant and thrilled his soul. ireeof^iiisin^ in the lowly 
indi\idiial heCoi-e him the hold and faithful su|)|)orter on the 
battle-field, he {imbraec-d him as a friend, and invited hirn 
to li(!ad-quarterH. Tlw^n;, doubtless, tluty eommuruid in 
s[)irit, eallinj^ iij) stirring- r(;ininiseenees of the times that 
tried men's souls, and passinj^- aj^ain, thou{^h 'in tlu; eveniri}^ 
of life, throuf-h the; throes of stiuf^gliiig liberty in which 
tliey had partieipat(;d as youthful eombatants. '^I'he expioitH 
of Joshua Amnions would mak(; un extended narrative if 
vvritt(;n out in full. ]Jaring almfjHt to a fault, lie shrank 
from no danger, nor Hhunned any responsibility. I'rison 
ships presented no terrors to his dauntless kouI, nor did a 
view (jf the gallows adeet his nerves. lie iivt^d to a very 
advanced aj^e, and j)assed away amid tiie grateful benedic- 
tions of the descendants of those with whom lie iiad foiiglit 
in unwavering devotion to his country.^' 

Anotlicr name which has no place in liistory, and is now 
unknown in the region where he lived, deserves, in one 
respect at least, tlie first place in the annals of the I'edee, 
ifn<;t in the story of the Revolution throughout the thirteen 
(;olonies. Jmio]) JJrawlcr gave his own life and the lives of 
twenty-two sons to the cause of liberty in Carolina. lie 
removed from Tar llivcr, North Carolina, to Liberty Pre- 
cinct, and settled on Cat Fish, sixteen miles below the 
present village of Marion. He was married twice, and had 
large families hy hoth wives, of wliorn all were sons, except 
one, a daughter. After th(; fall of (Jharles-town, some of 
his sons were drafted; but the old man said there sli(nild 



* Wlien Loe'o " MomoirH of tlifi Southern Carnpaign " first apfioarrwl, Mr. 
AininoiiH read the hook witli iihHorhiri;^ iiit(;rt'Ht. Iliw ruriniii^^ oominciiiH are 
haid, hy an hiLclligciit (VkiiiiI and ncighhour, wlio waH ofU-n with him at the time, 
to liav(! hecn extremely IntercHtrii^ and itmtnictive. Many Hl,ateinent» h<; cor- 
reeted, tlie ir)cinory of numerouh incidentH wan recaUed, and the moHt varied 
cinoLionH were excit(;d hy the perusal. It Heenied to reviv«;, an an expiriri^^ (lamo, 
tlie Hpirlt of '7fJ — a (lame whidi continued to hnrn in him with enthuHiahtic 
devotion to liherty, dear in the recollection of itH early conllictH, until ex-, 
tinguiuhcd in death. 

I) I) 2 



404 HISTORY OF THE OLD CMERAWS. 

be no division among them^ that if one went, all should go, 
and that he would accompany them. Twenty-four in all, 
they embarked in the strife, and almost incredible. to relate, 
but one of the sons returned to tell the tale of their 
slaughter. Overwhelmed by the calamity, the frantic wife 
and mother went off, not knowing whither, in search of her 
loved ones, but only to return, after a fruitless search, a 
broken-hearted mourner. She was eventually put upon the 
parish, and lived to old age. The surviving sou, who was 
of weak mind .and body, died a few years after, and the 
name became extinct in Marion.^ 

With the close of 1782, the Revolution may be said to 
have ended in Carolina. The long and anxious struggle 
was then over. And, with returning peace, prosperity came. 
Again attention was to be turned to the material develop- 
ment of the State, to the subject of education, and other 
departments of progress. The halls of justice, long silent, 
were to be re-opened ; and now that those who had been 
sorely oppressed, were to be henceforth free and independent, 
they were to feel, in the work and fruits of peace, the full 
measure of the responsibilities assumed, when they solemnly 
pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their 
sacred honor. 

The following very imperfect list collected from the 
Archives of the State, will give, in addition to those already 
mentioned, embracing also some of them, the names of not a 
few others on the Pedec, who took part in the war, and may 



* This account, wbicli may appear almost incredible, was related to the Autlior 
by the late Hugh Godbold, of Marion, and confii'med, in every particular, by 
William Shaw, a humble but worthy and respectable man, who was of age at 
the time, lived in the same neighbourhood, and knew the family of Brawler well. 
Mr. Shaw was born in March, 1759, and in the spring of 1859, when the Author 
spent a night with him at the house of Mr. Godbold, was possessed of astonishing 
vigor of body and mind for one of his years. Neither his siglit nor hearing was 
very seriously impaired. He sat up to a late hour, listening with unabated in- 
terest to a conversation about the early days of the Pedee, taking part himself, 
and was as cheerful as a man in his prime. He said a red oak was then living 
which stood in Brawler's yard. Brawler was poor, but ingenious. He adopted 
the following method of catching bears : — Driving sharp nails, pointing down- 
ward, in a bee-gum, he baited it at the bottom, having secured it well. The 
bear, putting his head down, would be caught beyond the possibility of extrica- 
tion. William Shaw had passed his hundredth year when the Author saw him for 
the first and last time ; and, considering his activity, was one of the most re- 
markable cases of longevity on i-ecord. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 405 

fitly bring this narrative of the Revolution to a close. 
Other services were doubtless rendered by most^ if not all 
of those included in this list. Many either neglected or 
declined, after the E-evolution, to present any account 
against the State ; while a large number of those who lost 
their lives during the struggle, were not afterwards repre- 
sented. The records of the Continental line, had they been 
accessible, would have added many more names. Frac- 
tional as it is, the list here given is well worthy of pre- 
servation. 

Allen, Jeremiah, lieutenant of Militia, in . , . 1782 
Ammons, John, private in Capt. Thos. Parrot^s 

Company of Horse ^ . . „ 

Ammons, Thomas, private, in „ 

Andi'cws, John, adjutant of Col. Hicks's Regt. from 

- Feb. to Nov 1780 

Arnold, William, private, in ] 782 

Askew, John, „ under Marion .... „ 

Ayer, Hartwell „ in 1778 

Bacot, Samuel, 1st Lieut, in Marion's Brigade, in . 1783 

Benton, Lemuel, private in Benton's Regt. „ . „ 

Beasley, Daniel „ 
Beasley, William „ 

Berry, Wm., sergeant, in „ 

Bird, Wm., private „ „ 

Blackwood, Abram, private, in „ 

Blakeney, John, sergeant in Marion's Brigade . . „ 

Blakcney, Robert, private „ . ^ „ 

Blakeney, Thomas „ „ »• ,, 

Bozeman, John >j ;> 1783 

Bryant, Gray „ ,, Benton's Regiment . . 1781 

Bryant, Hardy „ „ „ . „ 

Biu'kitt, Ephraim „ „ „ . „ 

Burkitt, Samuel „ „ „ . ,, 

Butler, John, Captain 

Campbell, James, sergeant, in 1782 

Cassity, Zachariah, private in Benton's Regiment . „ 

Champ, Richard „ „ „ 

Cherry, William „ „ Marion's Brigade . . ,, 



406 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Clarkj Harman, private in Marion^s Brigade . . . 1782 

Clayton^ Lawrence „ „ ,, 

ClementSj Joseph „ ,i i> 

Coker, Benjamin „ i, a 

Coker, Nathan „ „ „ 

Coker^ Thomas „ „ 1781 

Cole, James, sergeant and private 1782 

Coleman, James, private, in „ 

Coleman, John „ „ ....... „ 

Collier, John „ „ „ 

Conn, Thomas, adjutant and private in Benton's 

Regiment 1781 

Cone, Matthew, private, in 1782 

Conner, James >} 33 33 

Cook, William, sergeant and private in Continental 

line „ 

Council, William, private under Marion .... „ 

Courtney, Stephen „ in „ 

Coward, William „ „ 1780-81-83 

Cox, Emanuel ,,. „ „ 

Cox, James „ „ „ 

Cox, John „ „ Capt. Standard^'s Com- 
pany, Benton's Regiment 1781 

Cox, Josiah, private in Capt. Moses Pearson's Comp. 1782 
Cox, Samuel, ,, „ „ „ „ „ 

Cox, William „ „ „ „ „ „ 

Croker, James „ „ 1780-82 

Daniel, Aaron „ „ „ 

Daniel, John „ „ „ 

Darby, Jacob „ 3, •' « 

David, Azariah „ „ 1782-83 

„ Ezekiel „ „ Marion's Brigade .... 1782 
„ John, sergeant and lieutenant alternately 1779-82 
„ Joshua, private, Capt. Thomas Ellerbe's Com- 
pany, Hicks's Regiment 1780 

Davis, John, private^ in 1782-83 

Davis, Thomas „ „ 33 3, 

Davis, William „ „ 1782 

Dewitt, Charles, second-lieut. in Marion's Brigade 1781-82 
Dewitt, Martin 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 407 

Dial, John, private, in 1782 

Doney, Peter, private, in „ 

Douglass, Jesse „ „ 1781-82 

Douglass, Joshua „ „ » „ 

Du Bose, Andrew „ „ Benton^s Regiment in 

1780, and captain, in 1781 

Du Bose, Daniel 

Du Bose, Elias, lieutenant and private 

Du Bose, Isaac, pri vate, in Mahan^s Cavaby Regiment 1782 
Du Bose, Samuel 

Du Bose, William, sergeant, Benton^s Regiment, 
Marion^s Brigade 

Duling, James, private, in 1782 

Duling, John „ „ „ 

Ellerbe, Thomas, captain, in 1781-82 

Ellerbe, William, private, „ 1782 

Evans, Benjamin „ under Major Amos Wind- 
ham 

Evans, Burwell, private, in „ 

Evans, Enoch, first-lieut., Capt. Irby^s Company, 

Hicks^s Regiment, siege Charles-town . . . 1780 
Evans, Ezer, private, in Captain Irby^s Company, 

Hicks's Regiment, siege Charles-town ... „ 

Evans, George, lieut., in 1781-82 

Evans, John, private, in 1782-83 

Evans, Josiah „ „ Benton^s Regiment , 1781-82 

Evans, Thomas „ „ Hicks^s Regiment, siege 

Charles-town 1780 

Evans, William 

Fort, Moses, private, Irby's Company, Hicks^s Regi- 
ment, siege Charles- town „ 

Faulkner, John, private, under Marion 

Fountain, William, private, in ...... . 1783 

Flowers, John „ „ 1782 

Fitzpatrick, James „ ,, „ 

Ford, Albert „ „ 1781-82 

Frasher, — „ „ « 

Fuller, John „ „ „ 

Farmer, Zachariah „ , „ 

Gardner, Stephen „ „ „ 



408 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Gardner, William, private in . . . • . . . . 1782 

Gay, — , lieutenant „ 1781-83 

Gibson, Thomas, sen., private, in „ 

Gibson, Thomas, jun. ,> )> « 

Gillespie, James, sergeant, Martin's Troop, Sumpter's 

Brigade 
Gillespie, Samuel, private, Robuck's Regiment 

Goodson, Arthur „ in 1782 

Goodson, Thomas „ „ „ 

Goodwyu, Britain „ „ „ 

Goodwyn, David „ „ „ 

Goodwyn, Lewis „ ,, „ 

Gregg, James, captain, Britton's Neck Regiment, 

Colonel Ervin 
Griffith, Joseph, captain 

Grimes, James, private, Irby's Company, Hick's Re- 
giment, siege Charles-town 1780 

Hagin, David, private, in Benton's Regiment . . 1782 

Hales, Silas „ „ „ 

Harrall, Levi „ „ „ 

Harrington, Wm. Henry, commanding South Caro- 
lina Militia, both sides of Pedee, November . 1780 

Harrison, Henry, private, in 1782 

Hendley, Jesse „ „ „ 

Hendricks, William, caj)tain, Marion's Brigade . . „ 

Hewstess, James, sergeant „ 

Hicks, George, colonel ...;... 1779-80-81 

Hickson, John, private, in 1782 

Hindley, Edward „ „ Benton's Regiment 

Hinds, John, lieut. and private, in „ 

Hincs, Samuel „ >} „ ,, 

Hinson, Clayburn, commanding detachment pri- 
soners to Long Bluff April, 1781 

Hinson, William, private. Round O Company Militia 1779 

Hird, John, lieut., in 1782 

Hodge, Elias, private, in 1779 

„ Isham, private under Major Tristram 

Thomas, Ilicks's Regiment 1780 

„ James, private under Lieut. John Pledger, 

Murphy's Regiment 1782 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 409 

Hodge, John, private in Capt. Standard's Company, 

Hicks's Regiment 1780-81 

„ Joseph, private under Major Thomas, and in 

Hicks's Regiment, in 1782 

„ Robert, sergeant. Captains Standard's and 

Pearson's Companies, Benton's Rcgt. 1780-82 

„ Thomas, private, in 1782 

„ Welcome, sergeant, Benton's Regiment, 

siege Charles-town 1780 

Hollis, Moses, lieut., in 1783 

Hnhbard, Noah, private, in . . ; 1782 

Huckaby, Ishara, sergeant and private, in . . . „ 
„ Samuel „ „,>■••'» 

„ Thomas, private, in ...... • „ 

Huggins, John, captain. Col. Hugh Giles' Regt. . 1779 

Hunt, Criswell, private, Benton's Regiment 

Irby, Edmund, captain, Hicks's Regt., INI'^Intosh's 

Brigade, siege Charles-town 1780 

Irby, Charles, commissary 1782 

Jackson, John, lieutenant, in „ 

„ Stephen, captain, Kolb's Regiment . . . 1780 

„ Stephen, junr., private, in ..... 1782 

„ WiUiam „ „ „ 

James, Alexander, lieut., in „ 

„ . George, private „ „ 

„ James „ ,, ,j 

Jenkins, Charles „ „ „ 

„ J ames „ „ „ 

„ Reuben, lieutenant and private .... „ 
Jinkins, James, lieutenant in Benton's Regiment . „ 
John, Azel, private, Benton's Regiment .... 1782 
„ Jesse „ „ .... 1783 
„ Thomas „ . „ .... 1782 
Johnson, John „ Capt. Standard's Company, Ben- 
ton's Regiment . 1781 

Johnston, John, private 1782 

Jolley, Joseph „ „ 

Jones, Edward, Captain of Guard, Kolb's Ferry 1780-83 

„ James, private 1782 

William „ „ 



410 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Keil, William, private 1782 

Keith, Cornelius „ „ 

Kennedy, Stephen _,, „ 

Kilgore, Henry „ „ 

Kirby, James „ „ 

Knight, Niglet „ „ 

Kolb, Benjamin, Benton^s Regiment 1781 

„ John, sergeant and corporal 1780-81 

„ Peter, private, in 1782 

Large, David „ „ „ 

Lee, William „ „ „ 

Lide, Robert, Major, Marion's Brigade 

Lowther, Edward, private in 1781-82 

Lowry, Robert . „ „ Marion's Brigade . „ „ 

Luke, Owen „ „ „ 

Lundy, Drewry „ „ 1781 

„ John „ „ 1781-82 

Lyons, Guthridge, captain, Benton's Regiment . . 1781 

„ William, private 1781-82 

Mario, James „ 1782 

Mannings, James „ „ 

Marsh, John Lewis „ Benton's Regiment . 1781 

Martin, Jeremiah „ „ „ . „ 

„ William „ „ „ . „ 

Mason, Charles, commissary under Marion, and private 1782 

„ Joseph, private, in „ 

M^Call, George „ under Marion .... „ 

„ Henry, sergeant of horse ] 782-83 

„ John, lieut. and private, Marion's Brigade 1781-82 

„ William, private in 1782 

M^Carter, James „ „ „ 

M'Cullogh, George, captain, in „ 

McDonald, John, private ........ „ 

McDowell, Samuel „ „ „ 

M'Gee, James „ „ „ 

M'lntosh, Alexander, captain, Benton's Regiment 1781-82 

" Lacklin, private, in 1782 

„ William „ Captain Nelson's Com- 
pany, Marion's Brigade 1781-82 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 411 

M^Iver, Evander, private and clerk in Captain Irby^s 

Company, Hick^s Regiment, M^Iutosh^s Brigade 1780 

M'^Muldrough, Andrew, private, in 1782 

„ Hugt, sergeant-major, in ... . 

„ J ames ,, ,,.... 

„ William, lieutenant „ . . . . 

M'Natt, Joel, private, Murphy^s Regiment, Marion's 

Brigade 

„ Mackey, private 

Mikell, James „ 

„ John, jnn., lieut. and private, Marion's Bri- 
gade 1780-82 

Miles, William, private, in 1782 

Mixon, Maraday „ under Lieut. John Rushing, 

Benton's Regiment, at Long Bluff, in . . . 1783 

„ Samuel, private in 1782 

Moody, Andrew „ Captain Standard's Com- 
pany, Benton's Regiment 1781 

„ Roderick, private in Captain Standard's Com- 
pany, Benton's Regiment „ 

Moore, Gully, private, in 1782 

„ Jeremiah „ „ „ 

Munnerlyn, James, lieutenant 

Murphy, Maurice, captain in Hick's Regiment, in 
1779-80, major, in 1780-81, and lieut. -col. com- 
manding, in 1781-82 

Murray, William, private, in 1782 

Nettles, George „ „ Pedee Regiment, Ma- 
rion's Brigade 1780-83 

Nettles, Joseph, private, in 1779-82 

„ Robert „ „ Marion's Brigade 

Noland, William „ „ 1782 

Northent, William „ „ ,, 

Norwood, John, captain in Marion's Brigade, in . „ 

„ Samuel, private, in „ 

Nugent, Thomas n » }> 

O'Neal, John, commissary of detachment under 

Col. Benton, in „ 

Outlaw, Benjamin, private, in „ 

Parker, Moses „ „ 1781-82-83 



412 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Parrottj Thomas, Captain of Horse, in .... 1 782 
Pasley, Robert, captain, in ........ 1781 

Pearson, Aaron, private „ 1782 

„ Moses, lieutenant in Hick^s E-egiment, in 
1780, and captain in Benton's Regiment, Ma- 
rion's Brigade, in 1781-82 

Perkins, David, private, in 1782 

„ Isaac, sergeant „ ,, 

,, Lewis, private „ „ 

„ William „ „ „ 

Pigot, John, sergeant, in „ 

„ Nathanael, private, in „ 

Pledger, John, lieutenant in Marion's Camp, 1781- 
82, and lieutenant commanding in Murphy's 

Regiment, in July, 1782 

Poke, Daniel, private, in „ 

„ John „ .......... „ 

„ Luke „ „ „ 

Pouncey, Anthony, quarter-master, in - ... . 1780 
Powe, Thomas, commissary, Hick's Regiment . . „ 

Powers, Nicholas, private, in 1782 

Preswood, Jonathan, sergeant, in „ 

„ Thomas, private ,, „ 

Purvis, Alexander „ „ „ 

„ Gilbert „ „ 

„ John, lieut.-col., in 1780 

Raburn, John, private. Captain Daniel Spark's Com- 
pany 1779-80 

Raspberry, John, private, in 1782 

Rasher, Michael „ „ 

Rawlinson, John „ „ Benton's Regiment 

Rivers, Fredei-ick „ ,, 

Roan, William >, ,> 

Roberts, Philip >, » 

Rogers, Edward ,, „ 

Rouse, Neal „ „ 

Rushing, John, lieutenant, Benton's Regiment, at 

Long Bluff, in 1782-83 

Russell, Stephen, sergeant and private, in . . . 1782 
Sansbury, Dauiel, private, in 1781-82 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 



413 



SaunderSj Natlianael^ lieutenant and private under 

Benton, in 1780-81 

Sellers, AYilliam, private, in 1782 

Sexton, Edward, „ ,, . 1782 

Shoemake, Samuel „ „ 
Simons, David, sergeant, in 
„ Samuel, private „ 
Smith, Charles „ „ Capt. Thomas Ellerbe^s Comp. 
„ John, private 
„ Richard „ 
„ Jeremiah, private, in Andrew Du Bose^s and 
Thos. Ellerbe^s Companies, Benton^s Regiment „ 

Sparks, Daniel, captain, in 1781-82 

Spears, David, private, in „ 

Standard, William, captain in Benton^s Regiment 1781-82 
Spencer Calvin, assistant quartermaster-general, 

June to August 1780 

Stanley, Shadrack, private, in 1782 

Starks, Henry „ „ ,^ 

Stephens, John „ „ ^^ 

Strother, George, lieutenant, in ^, 

Teal, Edward, private, in - . ^^ 

Terrell, Edward „ „ ^, 

_,, James, lieutenant, Benton^s Regiment at 



Long Bluff 



1783 



„ Samuel, lieutenant, in 1781-82-83 

Thomas, Tristram, captain in Hick^s, Kolb's, and 
Benton^s Regiments, 1780-81, and major in Ben- 
ton's Regiment 1781-82 

Thorp, Eleazer, private, in 1782 

Tootles, Obcd ,, „ „ 

ToAvnsend, Light „ „ Benton's Regiment . „ 

Veal, John „ „ . . „ 

Vickers, Jacob „ „ „ 

Vining, Jesse „ „ 1782-83 

Waddell, Abel „ „ 1781 

Warwick, Abraham, private, in 1 782 

Watkins, Samuel „ under Capt. Amos Windham 

Weaver, Hartwxil, private, in „ 

White, James, private, in 1 782 



414 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 

Wliittiiigton, Baructt^ private, in 1782 

„ Epliraim, licut., Benton's Rcgt., in 1781-8.2-83 

„ Francis, private in 1 782 

„ Levi „ „ )^ 

„ Natlianael „ „ „ 

„ llicliard „ >, « 

Wilds, Abel, private, in „ 

„ Jesse, lieutenant, in „ 

„ Samuel, private, in 1782 

Williams, Daniel, captain in Benton's Bcgiment^ in . 1781 

Williamson, Jesse, private, Marion's Brigade . . 1782 

„ Sliadracli, lieutenant and private^ in . „ 
„ Stephen 

,, Sterling, private, in „ 

„ William „ „ „ 

,• Willis „ „ „ 

Wingate, Edward „ }> „ 

Wii)dliam, Amos, captain under Kolb, and major, in „ 
„ Jesse, private 

William „ 1782 

Wise, James „ „ 

,, William „ „ 

Wood, Benjamin „ „ 

Woodward, Thomas „ „ 

Wright, Amos, private, Capt. Amos Windham's Com- 
pany „ 

„ Gillis, private „ 

„ Joseph „ „ 

,j Solomon, private, Capt. Windham's Com- 
pany „ . 

Yates, William, private „ 

Youngblood, David, private „ 

„ Peter, captain ,, 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 415 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Afembers of Legislature elected for St. David's Parish — Petition of Elizabeth 
Mitchell, and action of Legislature thereon — Petition of Robert Allison — 
Relief extended — Elections for Cheraws District — First Circuit Court at 
Long Bluff after the Revolution — Charge of Judge Griinke — Presentments 
of grand jury — Tobacco inspectors appointed for Cheraws — Ordinance for 
opening navigation of the Pedee — Commissioners appointed — Ordinance of 
following year — Commissioners — Course of Legislation on the subject — 
Elections to Legislature for St. David's — Captain Devvitt resigns his seat — 
Re-elected — County Court Act — St. David's Parish divided into three counties 
— Boundary lines — Provisions of the Act — County Justices for Marlborough, 
Chesterfield, and Darlington — Locations made for the several county sites — 
Prevailing crime at that day — Presentment of County Court for Chester- 
field — Burning of records in Darlington County — Practising lawyers in St. 
David's — Names of counties — Greenville, why so called — St. David's Society 
revived — Its history — Teachers — Thomas Park — Life and character — 
Members of St. David's Society — Notices of Welch Neck Church — Removal 
of church building — Account of William Falconer — Other settlers in Cheraw 
District after the Revolutiou. 

The state of public affairs urgently demanded the atten- 
tion of the Legislature, which was to meet in January, 
1783. At an election holdcn for members on the 25th and 
26th of November, Major Tristi'am Thomas was returned 
Senator; and Lemuel Benton, Thomas Powe, William 
Pegues, William Strother, William Dewitt, and Claudius 
Pegues, jun., Members of the House for St. David's. 

" On the I5th of February, Avas received the petition of 
Elizabeth Mitchell, widow of John Mitchell, in behalf of 
herself and the heirs and devisees of her deceased husband, 
setting forth, that he had been dead almost two years, and 
left his estate, real and personal, to herself and children — 
that she had observed, with concern, that his estate was con- 
fiscated by an Act of the General Assembly, and begged 
leave to state, that for many years preceding his death, her 
husband was of very distracted mind, and if he had been 
guilty of any acts to occasion the disj)leasure of the Legis- 
lature, such misconduct must have been the result of his 
insanity — that he was confined frequently as an absolute 



416 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

madman — that lie never held any commission under the 
British — -that herself and the heirs are well affected to this 
State; and one of the heirs, though a youth of tender 
years, had lately turned out a volunteer in the State ser- 
vice ; and she therefore prayed relief from the said Act of 
Confiscation, &c/' The petition was favorably received, 
and relief extended, except as to such part of the estate as 
would descend to a daughter who had married Captain 
Campbell, a British officer. 

On the 24th of February, the petition of Robert Ellison 
was read, setting forth " that he was an officer in the 
militia before the fall of Charles-town, and always exerted 
himself in the service of America — that he was made a pri- 
soner in Camden, and confined on Jameses island under 
very unhappy circumstances, and therefore prayed relief 
fi'om the penalties of an Act for amercing certain persons 
therein mentioned, &c/^ The case of Mr. Ellison seems to 
have been misunderstood. He was consequently relieved, 
and continued to enjoy the confidence and esteem of his 
fellow-citizens to the close of his useful life. 

At this Session of the Legislature, Claudius Pegues, jun., 
was elected Ordinary for Cheraws District, and William 
Dewitt, Sheriff. The latter having accepted the appoint- 
ment, vacated his seat as a member of the House. A new 
election was ordered for 24th and 25th of March, and Peter 
Allston returned. 

The first court holden at Long Bluff, after the Revolution, 
was on the 15th. of November, of this year. It was an oc- 
casion of unusual interest. 

Judge Grimke, who had been appointed on the 20th of 
March previous, appeared for the first time on the Northern 
Circuit, and made it the occasion of a timely and eloquent 
charge to the grand juries which came before him. The 
feelings of animosity, so recently cherished towards the 
Tories, were deeply rooted iu the hearts of the people ; and 
a disposition was manifested on the part of many to keep up 
the distinction, chiefly for the sake of appeals to popular 
feeling in connexion with elections. 

.Judge Grimke did not shrink from what he conceived to 
be his duty under the circumstances, and gave expression to 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 417 

such "wise counsels, mingled with patriotic sentiments, as 
tended much to quiet the public mind, and convince the re- 
flecting classes of the error and excess into Avhich many 
had fallen. The Charge, together with the Presentments of 
the Grand Jury of Cheraws, was published in the Gazettes 
of the day. 

The most interesting chapter in our annals, perhaps, ex- 
cept the account of the struggle itself, is that of the few 
years preceding the Revolution, and next, the narrative of 
the times immediately succeeding. 

The charge of Judge Grimke was as follows : — 

" Gentlemen of the Grand Jury : 

" This being the first time that I have had the honor of 
addressing the grand jury of this district in my judicial 
capacity, I must confess I feel myself impressed with an 
anxious awe, the offspring of diffidence ; and when I reflect 
upon the respect due to this place, upon the merits and 
dignified stations of the gentlemen to whom I am delivering 
my sentiments, upon the honor conferred on me by the 
voice of my country, and upon the important trusts com- 
mitted to my charge, the consciousness of my inexperience 
to perform the momentous duties of my office rushes in 
upon my mind, and almost overpowers my senses. But, 
persuaded of this distinguished mark of my country^s favor, 
of the dignity of the office, aud of the importance of its ob- 
ligations, I perceive myself bound by the indissoluble ties 
of honor to merit the confidence that has been reposed in me. 
" I will endeavor to regain those moments which the 
service of my country employed during the late Avar, in the 
military line, and by the most unwearied assiduity, render 
myself competent to appear in this capacity. It shall be 
my pride, always to make the law of the State my rule in 
the administration of justice, and to aim at the most im- 
partial and punctual, though merciful execution of them. 
And the contemplation of the present situation of this 
country, excites an ardor in forming such resolutions, and 
of carrying them, without delay, into execution. For the 
war which has for so many years suspended our power of 
opening the courts, has delayed justice to the good citizens 
of this State ; and has protected many daring offenders in 

E E 



418 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

the outrages they have committed on the public tranquillity, 
in their violation of the security of property, and in the 
repeated insults which they have offered with impunity to 
our inhabitants. This intermission in the public proceed- 
ings of courts of judicature, has been of so long a con- 
tinuance, and the offences committed since the capitulation 
of Charles-town so seldom punished, that the idea of the 
penalties affixed to the crimes, has been absorbed by the 
familiai'ity and frequency of their occurrence. Our be- 
wildered minds seemed no longer alarmed at the commission 
of crimes of the first magnitude ; and carnage, and all the 
havoc of war let loose upon our unfortunate country, had 
in some degree hardened the heai'ts of the most compas- 
sionate amongst us. But I hope the barbarous mode in 
which the enemy carried on their war, and which of neces- 
sity produced several instances of retaliation on our part, 
has not totally annihilated the merciful dispositions of our 
nature, and irremediably tempered our minds to violence, 
cruelty, and oppression. True it is, that men have long 
exercised a habit of consulting their own bosoms, their own 
resentments, and their own arms, for a redress of injuries ; 
but the impolicy and injustice of such appeals are too evi- 
dent to need a comment thereon. 

" At that period, indeed, when such unnatural and alien 
principles were forced upon us for our creed, and when we 
were compelled to adopt as the only means of probable 
salvation (the means which in some instances were used), 
perhaps we might stand exculpated before God and the 
nations of the earth. The convulsions of our country, the 
desolation of our farms, the conflagrations raging through 
our settlements, and all the ravages of our moveable pro- 
perty, presented a scene capable of agitating the minds of 
men who were not even sufferers in so general a calamity. 
But, when the cruelties of these refined barbarians extended 
themselves to the families and relatives of our countrymen 
— when women were upbraided and accused as guilty of a 
crime for the loyalty of their husbands and sons to our 
great and just cause — when they were turned out of their 
hospitable dwellings, deprived of every comfort and con- 
veniency of life, robbed of their personal clothing, and even 



HISTORY OV THE OLD CHERAWS. 419 

of the necessary covering to intercept the intemperate ardor 
of the sun, or the mighty falling dews of an inclement sky, 
"without any refuge or asylum than the wild and desolated 
plains of their country ; when their cattle, the only resource 
of sustaining themselves and infant families, during the exile 
or captivity of those to whom they looked for succor, were 
cruelly driven into their barns, and inhumanly consumed by 
fire with the buildings ; when men, whose age and infirmi- 
ties alone should have been their protection, and who were 
rather subjects even of an enemy's sensibility and com- 
passion ; I say, when such men, who were but lingering out 
the glimmering remains of a painful life, without the addi- 
tion of any sharper misery, became the objects of the 
indignation of an enemy, powerful and in arms, were 
dragged from their homes, and thrust into the sepulchres of 
our forefathers ; when our brave citizens, who had become 
captives by the fortune of war, were not allowed the usual 
privileges annexed to this unfortunate condition, but were 
daily perishing for the absolute want even of the common 
necessaries to sustain their miserable lives ; when the most 
repeated and violent infringements of the capitulation of 
Charles-town were not only practised, but impudently 
avowed; when British faith had become as proverbial with 
us, as that of the ' Carthaginians was amongst her con- 
temporary nations •/ when even the puerilities of our 
children could excite the malice of these heroes ; when the 
disgrace and disappointment of the panic-struck Rawdon, 
flying before the terror of our arms, had instigated them to 
give a loose to their fury, and to sacrifice, though not even 
by their mock forms of justice, by an ignominious execution, 
a martyr to oui' glorious cause ;^ when their impious hands 
were not restrained from pillaging the temples of the 
Almighty; from disturbing the* ashes of the dead, who 
ought to be in peace ; or from polluting the sacramental 
pales of the Holy Communion, which it is sacrilege to 
violate ; — then were the banners displayed, which aroused 
men's souls into action. Then it was, that we girded on 
our swords, and couched our quivering lances. Then it 



* The noble and devoted Hayne. 

£ £ 2 



420 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

was that we became familiar with the din of arms^ embraced 
the fatigues of marches and of the camp, and courted the 
dangers of the field. These were the alarms that roused 
our drooping spirits, and quickened our hearts with an 
enthusiastic spirit of opposition. At this moment, to have 
remained indifierent or neutral ; to have artfully reasoned 
from moderate, peaceable times, to times which were not 
moderate, and could not be peaceable ; or to repose our fears 
on the soft lap of hope, would have been deceiving ourselves. 
Por no other alternative (so dreadful was our situation) re- 
mained for us, but to await the assassinating arm of our 
perfidious foe, or resorting to the conditions of a state of 
nature, to assert the vindication of our wrongs by our own 
hands. To have been weak enough, affecting the hypocriti- 
cal mask of moderation, to have silently and obediently 
acquiesced under such enormities, would have left it pro- 
blematical to posterity, whether our early and national 
character was stamped with cowardice or treachery. But 
now, the scene is changed ; the ravages of our country and 
the afflictions of our friends no longer excite the tumultuous 
passions of the mind. Our foe is fallen, and hath retired 
with envy and disgrace to the dominions of their tyrants. 
Our mighty adversary has been compelled to acknowledge 
our freedom, our sovereignty, and independence ; and we 
now behold him an humbled solicitor at the throne of the 
dignity of our State for a return of our commercial favors. 
Pause, therefore, at this important and critical juncture, 
and contrast your present situation with that from which 
you are but just emerged. Behold the olive branch of 
peace extended wide o'er your towns and fields, and all 
your country reviving under its genial influence. Our 
citizens can now in tranquillity enjoy the sweet converse of 
their families and their connexions, and find a peaceable 
and safe asylum at their own farms. They are no longer 
alarmed by terror or suspense, but exercise their different 
vocations without interruption. No longer are their abodes 
infested by the bloody-minded ruffian, nor our temples 
turned into a den of thieves ; but benevolence and hospitality 
mark again our plantations, and respect and piety our places 
of public worship. 



HISTORY or THE OLD CHERAWS. 421 

" Were I, gentlemen, to pursue this theme, and enter 
upon a description of the relative and exalted station you 
stand on with the other powers of the earth, it is a subject 
yielding so much rapture to the mind of the Americans, I 
fear I should be tempted to deviate from my original design. 
With what transport should I relate the admiration which 
our success has created in the minds of the distant nations ! 
Behold the honor you are held in by them, and with Avliat 
ardor they gaze upon the new constellation with which you 
have enriched the political firmament ! See their glorious 
contention ; see how they press to your hospitable shores. 
Look forward to the immense empire, the work of your 
hands, that you are creating, and hearken to the loud accla- 
mations of your posterity, re-echoed to you by the azure 
vault of applauding heaven ! These are prospects that 
attract as they dazzle our fascinated attention. These are 
scenes that the intenseness of reflexion can never be wearied 
with ! These, these are the rewards of your virtue and 
bravery ! 

" But I must leave this subject, though with reluctance, 
and call your attention to an object of more immediate and 
of very considerable importance. I have described to you 
the necessity there was of our citizens assuming the reins 
of justice, and of inflicting punishment upon the unconvicted 
ofiender. I have shown you what your situation is at pre- 
sent compared with a former, and reminded you that peace 
was once more difl'used through our commonwealth. This, 
then, is a conjuncture in which it is incumbent on us to 
exert our abilities. Here is room for the heart to conceive, 
and the understanding to direct. It would be a worse than 
perfidy united with timidity to desert the state vessel which 
we have anchored in a safe haven after the perils we have 
voluntarily endured for her sake, and negligently to suffer 
her to perish by a fatal indifference to her interests. Should 
we grow remiss in our duty at this period to the Republic, 
we sacrifice the dignity of our country, and disgrace will be 
brought upon us for ever. 

" The distressed condition of this country calls loudly for 
the assistance of its individuals, and we have it now in our 
power to prevent a longer delay of justice, and the conse- 



422 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

quent relaxation of our laws. Therefore it becomes the 
pointed and indispensable duty of each of our citizens to 
endeavor to re-establish the harmony and order of our 
community _, and to revive the good discipline of its members. 
We must resolve^ then^ to renounce the empire of the pas- 
sions^ to correct that licentiousness which has pervaded the 
State^ to resign ourselves to the calm operations of our 
judgment^ and to embrace the temperate admonitions of our 
reason. 

" The distempered emotions which alarmed our breasts, 
like the threatening meteors of the heavens, shall disappear, 
and our hearts resume their wonted serenity. But, in a more 
particular manner does it become you, gentlemen of the 
grand jury, to second and support the judicial departments 
in the attainment of this important and desirable end. For 
you are selected by your country for the rank you hold 
amongst her citizens, and for the superior understanding 
attendant on your enlightened stations of life. You officially 
compose the grand inquest of your district, and are here 
the representatives and guardians of its inhabitants. It is 
to you that these, our covmtrymen, look up for advice to 
pursue, and for patterns to imitate. Wherefore it lies 
much in your abilities, as I make no doubt you are excited 
thereto by your inclinations, to divest them of prejudice, to 
instil into their minds just and constitutional principles, to 
hold up examples which may deter them from evil, and to 
impress them with a proper sense of the duty they owe to 
their magistrates, and of the implicit obedience they should 
pay to the laws of their country. Were I to undertake 
the task of pointing out to you minutely, the respective 
duties of your office as grand jurors, I should enumerate 
almost all the civil obligations of society ; but, as I am per- 
suaded it will be unnecessary for me to detail these exhor- 
tations to you, I will leave you to your own hearts and 
consciences ; the^ best directors, the most irreproachable 
monitors of mankind. Nevertheless, there is one division 
of the duties which fall to your lot, which I must request 
you to consider with me in the most impartial and dispas- 
sionate manner. Let us not deceive ourselves, and vainly 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 423 

imagine, because our enemy is fled, tliat our dangers are 
over. I fear we have an enemy of a more pernicious ten- 
dency amongst us, whom it will require the most obstinate 
resolution to overcome. I mean the dominion of the pas- 
sions, the gratification of our private resentment. It is 
time^ however necessary and politic it was lately to draw a 
bold and visible line of discrimination between the inhabi- 
tants of this country, that such a distinction should now be 
obliterated, wholly and irrecoverably. The terms of Whig 
and Tory are no longer useful, and the commotions of our 
country, which gave rise to and supported these denomina- 
tions, having subsided, these popular characteristics must of 
course be sunk also into oblivion. I will contend, that 
there cannot at this moment exist such characters as Tories 
amongst us ; for however willing some men, inveterate in 
folly, might be, even as yet to be considered in that light, 
the variation of the condition of our State will not any 
longer justify the appellation. For that person alone, in 
my idea, may justly be stigmatized with toryism, who 
basely taking advantage of the subjugation of the govern- 
ment under which he lived, during the suspension of the 
laws and the jurisdiction of the criminal and pivil courts, 
who joined the enemies of his country, and revelling in its 
calamities, being sensible of his security from punishment, 
exercises a wild and brutal dominion over his fellow-citizens, 
depriving them illegally of their property, and according to 
the intemperate dictates of his passions, of their precarious 
lives. Wherefore, then, since our Government is re-estab- 
lished, our laws in full force, and offenders presented to 
you for punishment, should we cherish so idle, so unprofit- 
able a discrimination ? Is it the quality of a good citizen, 
or the policy of a wise administration^ to render the inha- 
bitants of their country inimical to their Government ? 
Surely not ; but if you were industriously to keep up the 
idea that certain persons amongst you are Tories, what is it 
but declaring that such men are out of the protection of 
your laws, and that a citizen would be justified in putting 
them to death without the ceremonies of a trial ? Were 
this the case, in vain have we contended for the sovereignty 



424 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

of this country, in vain have we attained the independency 
of our State, for the will of each individual is the sovereignty 
and independency thereof. 

" It may be inquired here, and with propriety, what right 
have we, as individuals, to inflict punishment upon those 
who have violated the laws, or have injured us in our per- 
sons or property ? None but a bad citizen would revolt at 
the idea of appealing to the laws of his country ; they are 
our protection and redress. And whoever infringes them, 
be he distinguished by the title of Whig, or stigmatized with 
that of Tory, can find no refuge from their justice, no escape 
from the punishment annexed to their off'ence. Surely 
there can be no just distinction drawn between those who 
violate the laws of a country ; but the inhabitants thereof 
must be subject to their operation equally as to the certain 
and immutable stroke of death. 

'^ To hear the language which has been held forth upon 
this subject, one would be naturally led to believe that none 
but Tories could commit crimes, or, at least, that the same 
actions, if committed by Whigs, are not only pardonable, 
but commendable. Away with such trivial distinctions, and 
let us learn again to consider the transgressor of our laws as 
the only enemy of our State. Let us reflect calmly and 
deliberately upon the offences of which these persons stand 
accused. Black as the catalogue is of rapine and murder, 
I see no offence which did not exist before the commence- 
ment of the present war. And were men, who were 
familiarly guilty of these crimes, branded at that period 
with the appellation of Tories ? What ! were murder and 
the various offences composing our calendar of felonies, 
deemed Toryism in that age ? And were criminals punish- 
able unheard and uncondcmued, by the fiat of an individual, 
barbed, perhaps, with private revenge ? No, gentlemen, 
however illegal their conduct, however enormous their 
offences, they still had the benefit of a fair trial. The only 
reason, the impracticability of making examples of offenders, 
which could justify the conduct of our citizens during the 
war, exists no longer. If, therefore, notwithstanding this 
manifest alteration in our circumstances, there are any who 
still dare industriously to irritate men's minds by this dis- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 425 

crimination, I sliall class them with those offenders^ artful 
knaves, who, despairing of mining our commonwealth by 
the force of arms, sow the secret and insidious seeds of 
jealousy and suspicion amongst us. These are the detestable 
weapons of designing men, whose ambition or avarice is not 
yet sated. They but make a plea of this cant language to 
embroil again in civil discord our peaceable citizens, that 
they, forsooth, may once more reap the harvest of our con- 
fusion. I cannot take my leave of this subject without re- 
minding you that many of the persons hitherto designated 
by the title of Tories, and remaining amongst us, have 
thrown themselves upon the mercy of their country, and are 
entitled to the benefit of our laws. 

"In future, therefore, if any man commits murder, or 
robs a citizen, or perpetrates any other enormous offence, 
let him be apprehended, examined before a magistrate, and 
committed to gaol. Let him take his trial by his compeers, 
and be condemned by the justice, as well as by the voice of 
his country. But, if there is any one so lost to his duty as 
to seek for redress by an extra-judicial vindication of his 
wrongs, or by any other mode of proceeding more summary 
than a trial by jury, I will not hesitate to affirm that he is 
in effect a more dangerous enemy to the constitution of this 
State than the implacable adversary we have just driven 
from our shores. But here, then, I must beg leave to assure 
you that if any citizen has been injured during the late 
British usurpation over this country, although I will dis- 
countenance any man's arrogating satisfaction to himself by 
force of arms, that I will use every encouragement in my 
power to bring the offender to trial, and cause him to make 
exemplary compensation for the injury committed. For the 
pardon, which such men may have received from the Legis* 
lature, extends only to offences against the Government, and 
by no means to injuries done to individuals. But, above all, 
let us recollect our national characteristic of humanity, and 
preserve it untainted in the bosom of peace. The enemy, 
because we woidd not rival or countenance them in their 
barbarities, during the course of a long and bloody war, 
have uniformly charged us with a want of spirit. And 
should we not give them just reason to suppose that the 



426 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

charge was well grounded, if, as soon as they who pretend 
to have been a restraint upon our inclinations, have re- 
treated, we give a loose to the wanton dictates of our passion 
and revenge ? Let us examine what we owe to ourselves 
as men of sense and humanity, and what is due to the dig- 
nity of the State, rather than what such offenders deserve 
to suffer from our hands for their manifold misdeeds. 

" I have already, gentlemen, taken up so much of your 
time, that I vrill not delay you longer than to take a cur- 
sory view of the duties incumbent on you as a grand jury, 
and to recapitulate the offences cognizable by you. 

" You are entitled, according to the uniform and estab- 
lished custom of this State, to the privilege of first enquiring 
into the crimes committed within the jurisdiction of this 
Court. And the oath which has been just administered to 
you, requires your diligence and activity in investigating the 
truth of all such matters and things as shall be given you 
in charge, or shall come to your knowledge, in examining 
the evidences which are brought against the accused, and in 
forming a conscientious decision, after mature deliberation, 
upon the testimony supporting these allegations, or upon 
the knowledge which you yourselves have respecting the 
subjects of your inquiry. 

" It is then prescribed to you to make a true and just 
report thereof, for your determination (formed privately 
amongst yourselves, and in which tweh^e of your number 
must indispensably concur to give weight and effect to the 
indictments) is the great spring that sets in motion all the 
wheels of prosecution. Your reports furnish the Court with 
subject-matter to proceed on, are the first means of intro- 
ducing the citizen into a secure situation, and lay the foun- 
dation of bringing offenders to their merited punishment. 
But it is not to be understood that you are to make so 
minute an investigation into such matters as are the proper 
subjects of your inquiry, as to establish the fact itself. You 
are to find the bill, though founded only on probable grounds 
of suspicion, that the accused is guilty. For, notwithstand- 
ing the Petit Jury cannot exceed the crime laid in your 
indictment, yet they have the power, nevertheless, of ex- 
tending it to the least degree of offence that can be in that 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 427 

kind. Your report, therefore, is an information or declara- 
tion in favor of the State (founded upon an ex parte inquiry 
against the accused, which precludes the least possible chance 
of an offender escaping without punishment. And in 
conformity to that wise maxim which declares, that it is 
better that ten guilty men should elude the justice of the 
courts of law, than that one innocent person should suffer 
unmeritcdly, it is likewise preferable that ten guiltless per- 
sons should undergo the inconvenience of an examination 
before you, than that one offender should triumph in his 
crimes with impunity. Since, therefore^ you are authorized 
to examine only the e\ndences against the prisoner, and that 
your verdict can neither acquit nor convict, it is not neces- 
sary that you should find the specific crime of which the 
prisoner stands accused. For instance, if one has by acci- 
dent killed a person, it does not lie with you to discriminate 
the degree of offence. 

" You are further, gentlemen, obliged by virtue of your 
oath, to be secret in your councils, and silent upon the rea- 
sons of your decisions ; unless the Court demand some 
questions of you. You should not divulge whatever has 
been debated upon in the course of your business, nor the 
sentiments which are delivered ; nor make public the per- 
sons who made use of these arguments, nor the opinions 
which you yourselves held in discussion of the point in 
question : for certain it is, that such discovery is accompa- 
nied by perjury. The remainder of the oath illustrates with 
what integrity you ought to conduct yourselves in the execu- 
tion of your duty. 

" You must not suffer your minds to be clouded by the 
passions, but suppress all emanations of prejudice or malice, 
and give a full and absolute sway to the dictates of reason 
and justice. You must not omit presenting for punishment 
offenders against the law, either through partiality, favor, 
love, reward, or any expectation thereof. 

" Tliis, I confess, is a very difficult task ; but, notwith- 
standing the repugnant impulses of our tender nature, be 
assured that your oath will cause you to make a free inquiry, 
and to deliver a just account of the result. For it is also 
enjoined you to present the truth, the whole truth, and 



428 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHEEAWS. 

notliing but tlie trutli, according to the best of your skill 
and knowledge. If, therefore, there is any mental reserva- 
tion, any concealment of the truth, or any part thereof, any 
suppression of facts which have come within your own 
knowledge, you betray the trust which your country has 
generously committed to your prudence, fidelity, and in- 
tegrity. 

" But, at the same time that you are required to present 
all that you shall learn relative to the subject of your inqui- 
ries, you shall not report anything but what is true ; that is, 
no known falsity, no unjust accusation, which might be the 
occasion of drawing on an innocent person the suspicion of 
being criminal, and of subjecting him to the reproaches of 
his fellow- citizens. For it is as much incumbent on you 
to protect the virtuous, as to accuse and bring to trial the 
guilty transgressor. 

" If, therefore, it appears to you that the evidences are 
false, or that the charges appear founded in prejudice and 
malice, you ought to present such notorious offender. The 
consideration of this part of your duty, is a sufficient com- 
pensation to the generous and humane, for the disagreeable 
office imposed upon you of pointing out the wicked for the 
animadversion of the Court, since nothing surely can yield 
a more substantial gratification to virtuous minds, than the 
reflection that, besides being naturally possessed of the 
inclination, the laws of the country have invested them with 
the power of shielding the weak, unprotected, and honest 
from the calumnies and unmerited aspersions of the base 
and flagitious. 

" The crimes which are cognizable by you are two-fold : 
the first are capital, for which the ofiiender loses his life ; the 
second are tineable, to answer which the goods and lands of 
the guilty are subject, and to the fine is sometimes annexed 
corporeal punishment. 

" It will be sufficient, at present, that I only mention to 
you in general terms, the denominations of the crimes which 
comprise many more of an inferior degree. The capital 
offences are felony ; the fineable off'ences are those com- 
mitted against the public justice, against the public peace, 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 429 

against the public profit, against the public health, and also 
such as introduce nuisances to the damage and destruction 
of the property of the good citizens of this State. 

" And now, gentlemen, I take my leave of you, congra- 
tulating you on the great event, which we have been so 
instrumental in accomplishing by the succor of divine Pro- 
vidence. 

" It is with pleasure we look back upon the difficulties 
and dangers we have been obliged to undergo in the esta- 
blishment of our independence, and our perils and labors 
for the sake of our country, will render it dearer to us. Let 
us therefore exert ourselves to cherish and preserve that 
freedom, which has cost us such an expenditure of blood and 
treasure. Let us emulate those martial efforts of which we 
now are experiencing the benefits, and endeavor to secure 
the civil peace, order, and tranquillity of the State. The 
former have made us a free people ; the latter will render us 
for ever happy." 

This charge, in the generous feelings and moral courage 
exhibited, was highly honorable to the character of the 
judge ; and thoiigh doubtless, with other efforts of the kind, 
productive of beneficial results, could not allay , the deep 
feelings of animosity and revenge which had taken posses- 
sion of many of the people, or save society from the unhappy 
scenes attending the redress of a varied class of wrongs 
sustained during the war, which the ordinary administration 
of justice could not possibly reach. Only the lapse of time 
could extinguish resentment, and the passing away of the 
actors in other days, bring repose. For more than a gene- 
ration the evil was sorely felt. 

The grand jury made the following presentments : — 

" State of South Carolina. — We, the Grand Jurors for 
the District of Cheraws, present, as a grievance, the want of 
a road leading from the Long Bluff Court-house, the most 
direct way to Camden ; also, another road, leading from the 
Long Bluff Court-house to Murray ^s Ferry on Santee ; like- 
wise, another road leading from Kolb^s Ferry to Raines Bridge 
on Gum Swamp, to meet a road leading from Cross Creek 
to that place. 



430 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

" II. We present, as a grievance, the want of a bridge 
over Black Creek, on the road leading from the Long Bluff 
to George-town. 

" III. We present, as a grievance, the dangerous naviga- 
tion of the River Pedee, arising from the great number of 
logs lodged in the different parts of the same. 

" IV. We present, as a very great grievance, the want of 
the laws now in force in this State to be printed, and the 
magistrates and other officers to be furnished with the 
same. 

" V. We return our most hearty thanks to his honor, the 
judge, for his learned charge delivered to the grand jury, 
and request that it, together with these, our presentments, 
be printed in the Gazettes. 

" George Hicks, Foreman. 

Morgan Brown. 

Moses Pearson. 

Richard Brockington. 

Thomas Lide. 

Tristram Thomas. 

Philip Pledger. 

John Pledger. 

Thomas Ellerbe. 

Aaron Daniel. 

Joseph Ellison. 

John Andrews. 

William Ellerbe. 

John Westfield. 

John M^Call.'' 
At the following Session of the Legislature, January, 
1784, Thomas Powe was appointed Commissioner of Loca- 
tion for Cheraw District. Under an Act passed to regulate 
the inspection and exportation of tobacco, the growth and 
produce of this State, and for other purposes, a warehouse 
or warehouses were ordered to be established at Cheraw 
Hill ; and Benjamin Hicks, jun., John Westfield, and Wil- 
liam Pegues appointed inspectors. The presentments of the 
Grand Jury of Cheraws, the November previous, called the 
attention of the Legislature to the important subject of 
naaking some provision for improving the navigation of the 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 431 ' 

Pedee. The matter had been pressed upon it before, but no 
relief yet afforded. In an ordinance passed on the 26th of 
March of this session, for appointing commissioners to clear 
out certain streams, the Great Pedee was included. Ben- 
jamin Hicks, sen., George Hicks, Thomas Powe, William 
Kershaw, and William Pegues, were the commissioners ap- 
pointed under the same for Cheraws District, and empowered 
to contract for the removal of all obstructions in the Pedee 
as high up as the North Carolina line ; and for that pur- 
pose were authorized to draw on the Treasury for any sum 
of money not exceeding 300/. sterling. ^ 

Of the action of the commissioners, nothing is known. 
The same subject, as will be seen, continued to receive the 
attention of the Legislature ; but, either from the want of 
adequate appropriations, or the inefficient execution of the 
work, or other causes perhaps beyond the control of those 
entrusted with it, the navigation of the river continued to 
be seriously obstructed until a period long subsequent. By 
an ordinance passed the following year, for clearing out 
certain rivers, Benjamin Hicks, sen., George Plicks, Thomas 
Powe, William Pegues, Captain William M'Cotry, James 
Grier, Francis Greaves, Colonel John Er\in, Colonel Hugh 
Giles, Henry Davis, sen., and Archibald Odom, were ap- 
pointed commissioners for making navigable the Great 
Pedee from Euhany to the North Carolina line. To defray 
the expense thereof, they were authorized to assess what fur- 
ther sum might be requisite on all lands, in proportion to 
their value, as assessed for the payment of the general tax, 
situated within six miles of the said river, from Euhany to 
the Warhee Bluff, and within ten miles of said river, from 
the said Bluff upwards ; and on all male inhabitants, from 
sixteen to fifty years of age, li^dng within six miles of the 
river, from Euhany to the Warhees, and within ten miles 
from the Warhees upwards. They were also authorized to 
make the like assessment afterwards, from time to time, to 
keep the river navigable. The history of the legislation of 
the State on this subject, like that of some of its judicial 
decisions, will be found to have gone through a certain 
course of changes, returning at last to the plan first adopted, 
as the courts have done to principles, once established, then 



432 HISTOEY OE THE OLD CHERAWS. 

modified^ and finally made the settled rule of law. Com- 
missioners were first appointed to improve the navigation of 
the river, then a board of public works, than a general 
superintendent, and at length, after the failure of these 
plans to a great extent, commissioners, as at the beginning, 
the system of all others that has proved most effective. 

At an electionfor the Legislature, held on the 29thand 30th 
of November, 1784, William Dcwitt was returned Senator, 
and Morgan Brown, Elias Du Bose, Colonel Lemuel Ben- 
ton, William Pegues, Thomas Powe, and Calvin Spencer, 
Representatives for St. David's Parish. One of the seats 
having been subsequently vacated, Tristram Thomas was 
elected a member for the session of the following year. The 
Legislature met on the 20th of January. On the 29th of 
that month, Captain Dewitt, who was sheriff" of Cheraws at 
the time of his election, appeared, and having taken the 
oath, informed the House of the fact ; upon which, it was 
resolved, that, agreeably to the constitution, he was not 
qualified to take his seat. Having returned home, and re- 
signed the office of sheriff, he was re-elected, and took his 
seat in March. Allen Chapman was elected Sheriff, and 
George Hicks, Robert Lide, and William Thomas, Commis- 
sioners of Caveats for Cheraw District. 

The Session of 1785 was rendered memorable by the 
passage of the celebrated County Court Act. As the 
population of the country extended, the Circuit Court 
system, established in 1769, Avas found inadequate to the 
due and equal administration of justice. To remedy this 
evil, it was proposed to establish Courts of Inferior Jurisdic- 
tion, after the model of the County Court system of 
Virginia and North Carolina. Mr. Justice Pendleton, one 
of the Associate Judges, and an active member of the 
House of Representatives (for these offices were not then 
incompatible) was the able advocate of this scheme. By 
his influence and strenuous exertions, it was adopted."^ 

By this Act, it was provided " that the District of 
Cheraws should be divided into three counties, that is to 
sav, — one county lying and being on the south-east side of 



* Introduction to Brevard's " Digest," p. xvi. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 433 

Pedee River, bounding on the said river on the one side, 
the district line of George-town on the other side, 
and on the other side, the North Carolina boundary, and 
shall be called and known by the name of Marlborough 
County ; one other county, beginning at the mouth of 
Cedar Creek, on Pedee River, thence up to the head of the 
southernmost branch of the said creek, and thence by 
direct line to the fork of Lynchers Creek, being the upper 
county of the said northern division of the District, and 
shall be called by the name of Chesterfield; one other 
county, beginning at the mouth of Cedar Creek, thence 
down Pedee to the District line, thence along the said line 
to Lynchers Creek, thence up the same to the fork, being 
the lower county of the said division, and shall be called 
Darlington County/' By the 11 sec. of the Act, the Justices 
of the said counties were empowered to build Court 
Houses, &c., to cause taxes to be laid for the erection of 
public buildings, and to select for the same the most con- 
venient part of each county. The County Courts, thus 
established, were to be held once in every three months, by 
the justices of the peace of the several counties respec- 
tively ; and their jurisdiction extended to the hearing and 
determination of all causes at common law, to any amount 
where the debt was liquidated by bond or note of hand, or 
where the damages in certain actions did not exceed fifty 
pounds, and in other personal actions where the damages 
did not exceed twenty pounds, or where the titles of land 
did not come in question. In criminal cases their jurisdic- 
tion was exti'emely limited. The modes of proceeding were 
prescribed, the forms of process, and the manner of trial. The 
right of appeal to the superior, or Circuit Courts was j)rovided."^ 

On the 21st of March, the joint committee of the Senate 
and House, appointed for that purpose, reported a list of 
justices for the several counties. For Marlborough, Claudius 
Pegues, sen., Geo. Hicks, Morgan Brown, Tristram Thomas, 
Claudius Pegues, jun., Moses Pearson, and Thomas Evans. 

For Chesterfield County, Thomas Powe, William Pegues, 
Benjamin Jackson, William Strother, Calvin Spencer, Joseph 
Pledger, and Charles Evans. 

* Introduction to Brevard's " Digest," p. xvi. 



434 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

For Darlington County, William Dewitt, Lemuel Benton, 
Zachariali Nettles, James P. Wilson, Elias Du Bose, Robert 
Lide, and Charles Dewitt. 

The office of justice, under this Act, was one of high 
trust, and much importance. Men of experience and posi- 
tion were selected. The school of the Revolution had 
brought out conspicuously not a few citizens of solid judg- 
ment and unblemished integrity on the Pedee. At no 
period since, perhaps, in proportion to the population, have 
as many such characters been known. 

For the Court Hovise of Marlborough, a location was first 
made near Gardner's Bluff, the most of the settlements 
being then on the river, or in the region adjacent. After- 
wards, it was removed lower down, to the site of the old 
Court House, as it has since been known, on the main 
river road, above Crooked Creek ; and there continued until 
the extreme unhealthiness of that locality rendered a change 
necessary, the population also having extended out from the 
river into the pine lands ; and the present country seat, 
Bennettsville, was selected. For Chesterfield, the site of 
the present Court House was chosen. For Darlington, 
there was some difficulty in effecting an agreement among 
the justices. Col. Benton made strenuous eflbrts to have 
the location fixed at Mechanicsville. Elias DuBose, an in- 
fluential justice, was as anxious to have Coffee Town, a point 
on Swift Creek, six miles above the present Court House, 
selected. As a compromise, the present site, nearly midway 
between the other two, was chosen. So sparse were the 
settlements in that neighbourhood, that only a few years 
before, nothing but an old Indian trail led from that point 
to Camden. The Courts for Marlborough were to be liolden 
on the 1st Mondays in March, June, September, and Decem- 
ber. For Chesterfield, on the 2nd Mondays of the same 
months ; and for Darlington, on the 3rd Tuesdays in January, 
April, July, and October. 

Sui.'h records of the County Courts as have been pre- 
served, exhibit but little matter of interest. The country 
was sorely embarrassed with debt, and suits Avere numerous. 
There were many prosecutions in the County Courts, par- 
ticularly for cow stealing, which appears at that period to 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 435 

have been the most frequent crime. The only presentment 
w hich has been found, was one made in Chesterfield, March 
13, 1787; and the only subject matter of it, certain per- 
sons therein named, as having been guilty of offences 
against the public morals. The grand jury on this occa- 
sion, so far as the names appear on the records, consisted 
of the following persons : — 

Thomas Ellerbe, Foreman. 

Wm. Lyons. 

Ephraim Home. 

Abraham Cook. 

John Evans. 

Thomas Leonard. 

Benjamin Outlaw. 

Jason Meadow. 

Joel Yarborough. 

Joseph Booth. 

Joseph Powell. 

John Blakeney. 

Moses HoUis.*^ 

John Carter. 

Many of the records of Chesterfield County remain in a 
good state of preservation. But few are to be found in the 
public offices of Marlborough, and unfortunately for the 
history of justice as administered in Cheraws District, all 
the Circuit Court records, with those of Darlington County, 
were destroyed by the burning of the Court House about 
1804.* The fire occurred during Court week, and an old 
woman, who was party to a cause then pending, and whose 
interest it was to get rid of the records of the Court, was 
suspected of having been privy to the burning. Beyond 
this suspicion, however, no clue was ever discovered as to 
the origin of the conflagration. 



* A strong wind blew in the direction of tlie gaol, carrying a burning shingle 
to the roof and setting it in a blaze. The late John U. Witberspoon, of Society 
Hill (who related the circumstances to the Author), was present, and being then 
a young man, and of great activity and decision, rendered very efficient service 
on the occasion. There being no ladder at hand, he ascended by a smooth pole 
to the roof of the gaol, and saved it, with the prisoners in it, from destruction. 
The loss of documentary matter, connected with the history of the Pedce, was 
irreparable. 

P F 2 



436 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

The Circuit Court for Cheraws District continued to sit 
at Long Bluff. The lawyers whose names appear in the 
records of this period at the Cheraws Bar, were Elihu Hall 
Bay, Joseph Brevard, Thomas Waties, and Thomas Parker ; 
a few years later those of William Falconer and John 
Dibble are frequently mentioned, and John Caulkins. By the 
close of the century a number of others were added to the list. 

In 1785 there was no resident lawyer within the bounds 
of Cheraw District. 

The three counties are supposed to have been named, 
respectively, in honor of the Duke of Marlborough, the 
Earl of Chesterfield, and Col. Darlington, who distinguished 
himself in the war of the Revolution.^ By the County 
Court Act, that portion of the Judicial District of George- 
town, now constituting Marion District, was formed into a 
county under the name of Liberty Precinct, and the site of 
the present Court House selected. The name was most 
appropriately given, as in that region, under Marion, the 
struggle for liberty on the Pedee was chiefly waged. 

About this time the name of Greenville appears for the 
first in the records of the day instead of Long Bluff as 
before. It was so called in honor of Gen. Green, to whom 
South Carolina was largely indebted for the successful issue 
of the struggle which secured her independence. 

The St. David^s Society, which had been suspended 
during the latter yeai^s of the war, was now revived, and 
immediately took rank among the most distinguished schools 
of learning in the State. 

From its walls, in subsequent years, went forth those 
who were to fill the highest positions of usefulness and dis- 
tinction in Carolina. 

The following notice appeared in the South Carolina 
Gazette and Public Advertiser of Aug. 13, 1785 : — 

" The St. David's Society met on the 23rd ultimo, at 
Greenville, in the District of Cheraw, and chose the follow- 
ing gentlemen as officers for the year then commencing : — 
James P. Wilson, Esq., President; William Dewitt, Esq., 
Vice-President ; Thomas Powe, Esq., Treasurer ; and Evan- 



* Mill's " Statistics of So. Ca.," p. 512. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 437 

der M'lver, Secretary. They also appointed the foUowiug 
gentlemen a committee to superintend the erection of suit- 
able buildings, engage tutors, &c. Thomas Powe and Wil- 
liam Dewitt, Esqrs., Rev. Edmund Botsford, Mr. Abel 
Edwards, and Mr. Evander M'lver, This laudable society, 
formed for the benevolent purpose of erecting an academy, 
was instituted in the year 1778 ; but, owing to the calamities 
of the late war, had been entirely neglected. However, we 
hope, from its happy revival, and the very liberal subscrip- 
tions already made, that it will soon flourish, and that their 
intended plans may be prosecuted and carried into effect.^' 
In the following year William Pegues, Esq., was elected 
President, Samuel Wilds, Treasurer, and Enoch Evans, senr., 
Secretaiy ; which offices the two latter continued to hold for 
years afterwards. 

Andrew M'Culley took charge of the academy in the 
early part of 1786, and taught until October of the follow- 
ing year. Of Mr. M'Culley nothing more is known than 
that he appears to have discharged his duties to the satis- 
faction of the society. He was succeeded for a short time 
by Ezekiel Hitchcock, who had probably been his assistant. 

Eli King was Principal for three years, beginning with 
1788. He was from New England, and a friend of Thomas 
Park, who succeeded him in 1791. Samuel Wilds assisted 
Mr. King in 1788, and was afterwards, for a time, the Prin- 
cipal. Mr. King, after giving up the school, embarked in 
mercantile pursuits. Thomas Park had charge of St. David's 
from 1791 to 1800. About that time he engaged with Mr. 
King in business. Better fitted, however, for teaching 
than merchandizing, their enterprise proved a failure. Mr. 
Park then took charge of the academy at Ebenezer, in the 
lower part of Darlington, and was transferred from that 
position, upon the organization of the South Carolina College, 
to the Professorship of Languages, having been elected in 
November, 1806. There he continued in the uninterrupted 
discharge of duty until 1831-5. He was then elected 
Treasurer and Librarian of the College, and faithfully dis- 
charged the duties of these offices until his death in 1844, 
in the 79th year of his age. Mr. Park was a native of 
Uxbridge, Massachusetts, and graduated at Brown Univer- 



438 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

sity, Providence^ R.I., in 1791. In the latter part of that 
year he came to the Pedee. Without experience as a 
teacher^ but with a well-trained mind^ correct scholarship^ 
particularly in the ancient classics^ and a conscientious 
devotion to duty never surpassed^ he entered at once upon 
that highly useful and most successful career as a teacher 
of youthj which was only to terminate with his declining 
strength more than forty years afterwards. With neither 
genius nor learning, few men did more than Thomas Park for 
the education of the youth of Carolina, and no one ever 
retired from a position so difficult to fill, whether in the 
academy or the college, with a larger share of the confi- 
dence and affection of those with whom he had been con- 
nected. A just and beautiful tribute has been paid to his 
character and services by Professor Laborde in his History 
of the South Carolina College. It was a tribute richly 
deserved, and touchingly rendered by the writer of that work. 
Mr. Park was succeeded in St. David^s by the Rev. Fi'ame 
Wood, who continued in charge until 1804. He was fol- 
lowed by Enoch Hanford in 1804-5, and the latter by Elias 
Jones in 1806-7. 

After the revival of St. David^s, in 1785, it continued to 
flourish. Public examinations were held annually, and com- 
mittees appointed to act on such occasions. The exhibitions 
of the jmjDils excited much interest in the country around 
for a considerable distance, and were numerously attended. 
The records of its early history would serve as a model for 
many of the academies of more recent times, which, though 
more pretentious, are not so thoroughly conducted as was 
this noted school of old. 

In 1795, an Act was passed by the Legislature, providing 
that all the confiscated property to which the State was 
then entitled in the Circuit Court District of Cheraws, as 
also all the property already escheated, or which might there- 
after escheat, should be invested in the incorporated society 
of St. David's. 

Death had already made sad havoc among the members 
of the society. Between the years 1780 and 1788, the fol- 
lowing, as entered on the records, had died, viz. : — General 
Alexander M'lntosh^ Colonel Thomas Lide, Abel Wilds, 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 439 

William Terrell, Thomas Evans, sen., Joshua Edwards, 
Colonel Abel Kolb, Thomas James, Captain Philip Pledger, 
Richard Hodge, Charles Mason, Joshua Terrell, Captain 
Edward Jones, Philip Singleton, William Blassinganie, Rev. 
John Conner, Adam Cusack, Hugh Jones, Benjamin William- 
son, Captain Edmvmd Irby, Charles Irby, Captain George 
King, Captain Simon Council, and John Thompson. 

The following members were dismissed from the society 
at their own request, for the most part, doubtless, because 
of the distance at which they lived, rendering it incon- 
venient to attend the meetings : — May 3rd, 1787 — Benjamin 
Rogers, Colonel George Hicks, Colonel Lemuel Benton, 
Captain William Pegues ; May 1st, 1788 — Major Robert 
Lide, Captain Thomas Ellerbe, William Ellerbe, Captain 
Benjamin Hicks, Josiah Evans; May 6th, 1790 — Alexander 
Craig, David Roach, Jesse Wilds ; June 18th, 1791 — William 
Thomas; August 6th, 1792 — Rev. Evan Pugh, and Major 
John Kimbrough. 

The following were members after 1788 : — Daniel Sparks, 
Rev. Elhanan Winchester, William Dewitt, Rev. Evan Pugh, 
Nathanael Saunders, John Hodge, Abel Edwards, Thomas 
Powe, John O'Neal, William Thomas, Jerepaiah Brown, 
John Kimbrough, Peter Allston, Charles Gee, Claudius 
Pegues, James Blassingame, John M'Call, David Roach, 
Jethro Moore, Alexander Craig, Robert Gibson, Moses 
Pearson, Rev. Edmund Botsford, Morgan Brown, Evander 
M'lver, James P. Wilson, Maurice Murphy, Peter Kolb, 
Benjamin James, Tristram Thomas, Jesse Wilds, Benjamin 
Kolb, Thomas Evans, Enoch Evans, sen., Enoch Evans, 
jun., Samuel Wilds, Edward Duke, Henry Clark, and William 
Falconer. 

The cause of religion partook largely of the general de- 
pression caused by the troubled state of things during the 
Revolution. After the resignation of Mr. Winchester, in 
September, 1779, the Rev. Edmund Botsford took charge 
of the Welch Neck Church. Mr. Botsford was very highly 
esteemed. He remained until the 1st June, 1780, when, 
upon the threatened approach of the British troops, he went 
to Virginia; returning to Pedee, however, in 1782. Diu'ing 
his absence, the church was supplied a part of the time by 



440 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

the Rev. Joshua Lewis, an excellent man, who long con- 
tinued his faithful labors in this region. It is mentioned 
in the records of the church, that of the 220 white members 
left by Mr. Winchester in September, 1779, only 48 re- 
mained in March, 1793, showing the sad havoc of death, 
and the unhappy results of a protracted war. 

In 1798, the inhabitants on the river very generally gave 
up their plantations as residences, and retired to the hills in 
the neighbourhood of the present village. About the same 
time, a movement was made to abandon the spot which had 
been consecrated as a place of religious worship for nearly 
three quarters of a century, and erect a suitable building 
on Society Hill. 

Before the close of the century it was probably done. 
The records of the church, for a few years following 1798, 
were lost or destroyed, and no account remains of the com- 
pletion of this design. 

The first building erected after the removal was near the 
St. David^s Academy, and remained for almost half a century. 
The more imposing structure of the present day is upon a 
spot very near the original site. Sad are the changes which 
time brings with it. The signs of progress are linked with 
the memorials of decay. The associations of the past it is 
well to cherish — and let the earlier days of the old Welch 
Neck never be forgotten. 

Shortly before, and soon after the Revolution, some 
valuable accessions were made to the population of Cheraw 
District. 

The Rev. Timothy Dargan settled on Jeffrey's Creek, 
in charge of a church there, prior to the year 1780.^ He 
was a native of Virginia, but came to South Carolina in his 
youth, and in the early part of his life bore a commission in 
the Provincial troops, which were raised for the defence of 
the Province during the French and Indian wars. He re- 
mained on Jefirey's Creek until his death, in 1783. He was 
the grandfather of the late Chancellor Dargan, of Dar- 
lington. 

Colonel John Smith settled in Darlington District after 



* Wood Furman's " History of the Charleston Association," p. 78. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 441 

the war. He was a native of Maryland^ and served during 
the Revohitiou in the Maryland line. He distinguished 
himself in the battles of Monmouth and Hobkirk^s Hill, 
and in the disastrous conflict at Camden, where he was 
taken pi'isoner with De Kalb. When General Washington 
accepted the command of the army, in 1798, during the im- 
pending difficulties with France, Mr. Smith received the 
appointment of colonel, which he accepted at the earnest 
solicitation of the commander in chief.^ Colonel Smith 
filled several offices of honor and trust in Darlington, and 
was highly respected to the close of his life. He left no 
descendants bearing his name. Andrew and Ralph, two 
brothers, followed him to Pedee. Colonel Andrew Smith 
also served in the Maryland line. He was a prominent 
merchant in the early history of the town of Cheraw, and 
died there. Ralph Smith settled and died in INIarion. 

Captain Campbell, who had been an officer in the British 
service, settled in Marlborough, and continued to reside 
there until his death. The family became prominently con- 
nected with this region. His sons, Robert and John, who 
were gentlemen of amiable traits and large popularity, be- 
came distinguished, having both been members of Congress 
from the Pedee District. 

Gavin Witherspoon removed, after the war, to Darling- 
ton. He was a true soldier of the Revolution, having 
served under Marion. Many incidents are related of his 
prowess. The late John D. Witherspoon, so well known in 
Darlington, was his son. 

The name of William Falconer, afterwards so distin- 
guished on the Pedee, appears about this period. He was 
a native of Scotland, and educated in or near Glasgow. 
Mr. Falconer came first to Charles-town, as amanuensis for 
a Scotchman, Dr. Black, a man of some literary attainment, 
but blind. In 1785, William Falconer advertised in the 
Charles-town papers as writing master, not, as it would be 
now-a-days, a professor of penmanship. His aspiring genius, 
not content with such a position, soon looked in another 
direction, and in 1787 his name appears as an attorney in 



* Mill's " Statistics of So. Ca.," p. 517. 



442 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

the records of Cheraw District. He settled first at Long 
Bluff, and soon afterwards married a daughter of Thomas 
Powe, selecting a home four miles above Society Hill, in 
Chesterfield, where he continued to reside. Mr. Falconer 
became a prominent member of St. David's Society, and 
the leader of the Bar on Pedee. His career as a lawyer 
and public man was one of marked success, as will appear 
hereafter. 

Major Drury Robertson came to Marlborough after the 
war, and was prominent there for many years, taking a 
leading part in the affairs of that district. He was a ma- 
ternal grandfather of the late Colonel William T. Ellerbe, of 
Marlborough. 

The name of Alexr. Craig appears in the records of Ches- 
terfield during the Bevolution. His brother, John Craig, 
then quite young, was long after known as a worthy man 
and useful citizen, having been connected for many years 
with the Court of Common Pleas, and Ordinary for that 
district. He married a Miss Chapman, and reared a large 
family, the most of whom, or their descendants, yet reside 
in Chesterfield. 

Allen and John Chapman emigrated shortly after the 
Bevolution, from Westmoreland, Virginia, to Chesterfield. 
The former was a trooper in the Virginia line during the 
war. He settled first in the lower part of the district, and 
afterwards moved a few miles above Cheraw, where he lived 
and died. His first wife was a daughter of Thomas Powe. 
He afterwards married Eleanor, a daughter of Captain 
William Dewitt, and reared a large family, as did his 
brother John. They were useful and respected citizens. 

Baron de Poelnittz, moved by the spirit of his distin- 
guished countrymen, Kosciusco, Pulaski, and others, came 
from Poland, to join the American standard in the cause of 
freedom. He made a large purchase of land on the Pedee,^ 
and soon after the war, settled on the east side of the 



* The nut-grass, now so formidable an enemy of many of the planters in this 
region, is said to have been first brought by William AUston, to the place which 
Baron de Poelnittz afterwards purchased. 

The firstEnglish settlers brought the hawthorn with them for hedges. Some 
remains of it are yet to be seen in certain localities on the river. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 443 

river, in the lower part of Marlborough. He came up the 
river, with his effects, in a boat from George-town. The 
baron had three sons — Charles, Alexander, and John. The 
first died early. His only daughter, Elizabeth, is said to 
have been a very beautiful and accomplished lady. She 
married, first Charles Stuart, then Colonel Thomas Evans, 
and finally became the wife of Robeson Carlos. Mr. Carlos 
emigrated from Virginia to Pedee about- 1790, and was a 
prominent and useful man. Baron de Poelnittz died about 
the close of the century. None of his descendants, who 
bear the name, remain on the Pedee. 

William Harllee, the first of the name who came to 
Carolina, was, in early life, a captain in the British navy. 
He took an active part in the rebellion of the Stuarts in 
1745, and was forced to emigrate to America. He settled 
in Richmond County, North Carolina, near the State line. 
His son Thomas came to Marion about the close of the 
century, and was the father of the late Colonel David S. 
Harllee, of Cheraw, and other members of the family, who 
have been prominent citizens of Marion. 

Soon after 1790, Adam Marshall settled at Long Bluff. 
He had previously taught school on Poke Swamp^ in Marion, 
He married, in May, 1791, Mary, a daughter of Captain 
James Gregg. Mr. Marshall entered upon a successful 
career as a merchant, and amassed a large fortune. He 
died in Charles-town, where he had gone on a visit of 
business. 

John Punch, in 1 793, and Drs. Oliver Hawes and Miles 
King, were soon after added to this community. Dr. Hawes 
came from Wrentham, Massachusetts, and married Mary 
Lee, of George-town. He secured an extensive practice, 
and was esteemed for all those virtues which adorn the life 
of the man and citizen. A Federalist by early sympathy, 
he took an active part in the political excitements which 
followed this period. Dr. Hawes was for years President of 
the St, David's Society. His useful life was brought to a 
close in 1821. 

After the war, George and "William Strother settled near 
Cheraw Hill. They were sons of Charles Strother, who 
emigrated, at an early period, from Virginia to Charleston, 



444 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

where he continued to reside, though interested in, and 
giving some assistance to, St> David^s Parish. During the 
Revolution, George Strother was an officer in Capt. Thomas 
EUerbe's company. Soon after, he married a daughter of 
Captain Ellerbe. Mrs. Strother survived her husband many 
years. William, the other brother, after residing some time 
in Charles- town, moved to Cheraw, and married a third 
wife, Lucy Hicks, -who survived him. She afterwards went, 
with her children, to Alabama. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 445 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Senators and i*epresentatives elected for St. David's—Justices appointed for the 
three counties — Other elections — Ordinance for opening navigation of 
Lynche's and Black Creeks — Commissioners for same — Results of these 
efforts — Number in Pedee and Cheraw Regiments — Delegates from St. 
David's to Convention in Charles-town to ratify Federal Constitution — Vote 
of St. David's — Petition to Legislature from Chcraws for a circulating 
medium — Senator and representatives elected for St. David's, October, 1788 
— Petition from Cheraws for light troop of horse — Proceedings thereon — 
OflScers of same — Delegates from St. David's to Convention for framing new 
State Constitution — Elections, and justices appointed, for Cheraws District — 
Senators and representatives elected — County Court system re-modelled— 
County Court Judges appointed, and Justices of Peace — Act for opening 
navigation of the Pedee, and Lynche's and Black Creeks — Commissioners for 
same — Exhibition of St. David's Academy — Death of Dr. James P. Wilson 
— Equity circuits established — That for Cheraws — Population of Cheraws 
District — Representatives elected for the three counties — Petition as to the 
paper medium, and action thereon — County Judges elected, and other officers 
— Colonel Benton in Congress — Tristram Thomas elected brigadier-general 
— Colonel Benton resigns in consequence — Inhabitants of Cheraws meet 
about Jay's Treaty — Great freshets in Pedee — Emb.ankments on the river 
— Representatives elected — Petition for navigation of Lowder's Lake — 
Commissioners — Results — Regiments of Cheraw Brigade^^Petition as to 
inspectors of beef, &c., at George-town, and result — County Judges elected — 
Pftition for canal from Roger's Lake to Pedee, and result — Petition of Robert 
Ellison — Elections for Cheraws District — Legislative canvass in D.arlington 
— Elections for Legislature — William Falconer — County Courts abolished 
— Circuit Courts established— Officei's elected for the three districts — 
Dividing line between Chesterfield and Darlington — Canvass for Legislature 
in Darlington — Samuel Wilds — Elections for Legislature — Chesterfield 
regimental return — Cheraw Brigade — Colonel Spencer — Account of, and 
anecdote — Town of Cheraw — History of — Name of Chatham dropped — Its 
later history — Population of Cheraws District — Citizens commemorate 
death of Washington — Account of Mr. Pugh — Cheraws District passes away 
— William Falconer, notice of, letter to Alexander Craig, and death. 

Amid the blessings of peace and returning prosperity^ the 
country -^as henceforth to progress^ and a settled course 
of legislative administration to be adopted. The preceding 
forms of government having been of a temporary character, 
important constitutional changes were to be made. In 
November, 1786, William Thomas was elected Senator; and 
Calvin Spencer, Robert Baxter, Morgan Brown, Andrew 
Hunter, Lemuel Benton, and William Strother, Representa- 
tives for St. David's. Mr. Thomas was opposed for the 



446 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Senate by Dr. James P. Wilson. With the exception of 
Morgan Brown^ the members elect took their seats in 
January following. In March, the following justices were 
appointed, viz. : — for Marlborough, Hon. William Thomas, 
Colonel Thomas Lide, William Easterling, and Samuel 
Brown ; for Chesterfield, Thomas EUerbe, Samuel Taylor, 
Robert Lowry, and David Perkins ; for Darlington, John 
M'Call, Robert Brounfield, Albert Fort, Robert Allison, and 
Enoch Evans. Some of the justices, formerly aj)pointed, 
retained their positions. At this session, Benjamin Rogers 
was elected Sheriff for Cheraws District, and Lemuel Ben- 
ton, Escheator. A petition was presented to the House 
from sundry inhabitants in the Counties of Marlborough 
and Chesterfield, for the establishment of a ferry between 
Long Bluff and Cheraw Hill. An ordinance was passed, 
March 27, for opening the navigation of Lynchers and 
Black Creeks. Eor the former, James Marshall, John 
Dick, Elias Du Bose, Roger Wilson, Daniel Du Bose, John 
Smith, Zachariah Nettles, Robert Ellison, John Day, Josiah 
Cookfield, Lewis Harall, James Brown, Austin Stone, John 
James, John Piggott, Robert Carter, James Snow, and 
William Goddard, were appointed Commissioners. For 
Black Creek, Henry Cannon, John Peoples, James William- 
son, Michael Russell, William M'Muldrough, Andrew 
Hunter, Albert Fort, John Powell, William Williams, John 
King, and Edward Cooper. In the absence of better 
facilities for transportation, especially in the case of the 
inhabitants residing on Lynchers Creek, the navigation of 
these streams, it was supposed, would be a great public 
benefit. No important advantages, however, were obtained. 
This and other efforts in the same direction, show, at least, 
that the work of internal improvements was not neglected. 

According to the general return of the militia of the 
State, as reviewed in 1787 and 1788, of the brigade, em- 
bracing Berkeley and Craven Counties, the Pedee Regiment, 
Colonel John Baxter, numbered 1000, and the Cheraw Re- 
giment, Colonel Lemuel Benton, the same. 

At the session of the Legislature, January, 1788, the 
same members appeared as the year previous for St. David's. 
The most important subject brought up for consideration at 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 447 

this session Avas the ratification of the Federal Constitution, 
adopted in September of the previous year by a convention 
of delegates assembled in Philadelphia for that purpose. 

It was resolved, that elections should be held in April, 
for delegates (to consist of a number equal to that of the 
senators and representatives from the several districts and 
parishes respectively), to meet in Charles-town the following 
May. ' For St. David''s Parish, the following gentlemen 
were elected delegates to this convention, viz. : — Colonel 
Lemuel Benton, Major Tristram Thomas, Captain William 
Dewitt, Captain Calvin Spencer, Captain S. Taylor, Doctor 
R. Brownfield, and Benjamin Hicks, jun.* The Legislature 
adjourned on the 29th of February, to meet in Charles-town 
7tli of October. 

The delegates met in convention the 12th of May. On a 
motion for the ratification of the Federal Constitution, it was 
carried by a vote of 149 to 73 — the delegates from St. 
David's voting in the aflSrmative. Major Thomas was 
absent. On a motion made by Mr. Justice Burke, and 
seconded by Major Snipes, to restrict the re-eligibility of 
the president of the United States after the first term, the 
vote of St. David^s was in the negative. 

At the meeting of the Legislature in October, Major 
Thomas presented a petition, signed by John Pledger, Wil- 
liam Standard, and many others, in these words, viz. : — " The 
petition of the inhabitants of Cheraws District, humbly 
sheweth, that your petitioners labour under many and 
great grievances, for the want of a circulating medium to 
enable us to discharge our debts ; for the want of which, 
many of our fellow-citizens have had their property seized 
and sold at sheriff^s sale, not to the amount of one- tenth of 
its value, and many others are expecting the same fate. We, 
your petitioners, therefore humbly pray, that your honora- 
ble body will take our distresses into your serious consider- 
ation, and pass a law, that the creditor shall take the 



* The election was held for St. David's on the 10th April, at Kimbrough's Mill, 
afterwards known as Gibson's Mill, on the road from Society Hill to George- 
town ; on 11th April at Chesterfield, C.H. ; on the 12th at Marlborough, C.H. 
William Pegues, Lemuel Benton, and Tristram Thomas were the managers 
appointed to conduct the election at the several places named. 



448 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

property of liis debtor at its value; or strike a circulating 
medium, and exchange it for indents, and that the medium 
shall be received by sheriffs at their sales ; or that you will 
grant us such other relief, as to you, in your wisdom, shall 
seem meet, &c/' 

The Act which had been passed in 1785, to establish a 
medium of circulation by way of loans, afforded only tem- 
porary advantages. It caused the ruin of many, and the 
public suffered seriously in the end.* Hence the petition 
of the inhabitants of Cheraws. 

At the November election, 1788, for St. David^s, Morgan 
Brown was returned Senator ; and Robert Ellison, Charles 
Evans, Thomas Evans, Robert Brownfield, Drury Robert- 
son, and Henry Cannon, Representatives, The Legislature 
met in January, and continued to sit about three months. 
During the session, a petition was presented to the Governor 
from several of the inhabitants of Cheraws District, setting 
forth, " that the good citizens in these extreme parts of the 
State are much exposed to the depredations of horse-thieves, 
and otlier violaters of the laws, which are thereby rendered 
less vigorous, and are more contemned than is consistent 
with the welfare and safety of those who live under their 
protection. That infantry, of whom the militia is com- 
posed, have, from the tardiness of their motions, been found 
by the experience of many years, insufficient to apprehend 
and bring to justice many depredators, who therefore act 
almost at discretion, with impunity; that there are several 
instances of notorious offenders, after search warrants and 
other precepts have been issued against them, exulting, 
nevertheless, in their crimes, and openly threatening the 
murder and destruction of peaceable citizens ; who yet, for 
want of a force sufficient to apprehend them, elude the 
punishment which, in such cases, the law provides. That 
your petitioners humbly conceive, that an independent, 
volunteer troop of horse, composed of the inhabitants, pro- 
perly accoutred, subject to the command of their own 
officers, and commissioned by the Commander-in-Chief, 
would contribute much to remove, if not entirely to pre- 



* Introduction to Brevard's " Digest," p. xvii. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 449 

vent, the aforesaid grievances, and others of the lilvc nature. 
That several of the principal inhabitants have agreed to form 
themselves into such a troop, to consist of a captain, two 
lieutenants, a cornet, and forty privates ; and have elected 
Samuel Taylor, captain^ to command them ; and have also 
agreed, that from and immediately after their officers sliall 
have been commissioned, as aforesaid, they will, with all pos- 
sible despatch, co-operate with and assist within their own 
district, each and every officer of this State in the legal 
discharge of his or their duty, when thereunto required. 
Wherefore, your petitioners humbly pray your Excellency 
to establish the said troop of horse, by the name of the 
Chatham Light Horse ; to commission the aforesaid Samuel 
Taylor, captain ; Holden Wade, 1st lieutenant; Benjamin 
Hicks, sen., 2nd lieutenant; and Thomas Godfrey, cornet, 
to command the same, &c." 

Signed by 

Thomas Powe Lcml. Cox Jepson 

Samuel Taylor Nathan Leavensworth 

Holden Wade Benjamin Rogers, jun. 

Benjamin Hicks Alexander Powe 

Thomas Godfrey William Powe 

William Pegues George Hicks 

Allen Chapman Claudius Pegues, sen. 

William Falconer Claudius Pegues, jun. 

Frederick Fort Duncan M'Rae 

Erasmus Powe Thomas Ellerbe 

Benjamin Hicks, jun. William Ellerbe. 
Alexander Craig 

Whereupon, the Governor, Thomas Pinckney, made the 
following communication to the Upper House : — 

" Mr. President, and Honorable Gentlemen of the 
" Senate. 

" Honorable Gentlemen : 

" As it does not appear to me that the Executive is vested 

by the existing militia law, with power to grant the prayer of 

the petition, which accompanies this communication, and as 

I think the establishment desired would be beneficial, I 

6 G 



450 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

have referred the matter to the determination of the Legis- 
latiire. 

"Thomas Pinckney. 

" Charles-town, 17tli Jany., 1789." 

The foregoing was referred to a committee, consisting of 
Mr. Brown, Mr. Walker, and Colonel Hampton ; and in the 
House, to a committee, consisting of Mr. Justice Grimke, 
Mr. Waties, Dr. Irvine, with the members for St. David^s. 
Favorable action was taken, and the troop organized, 
much, doubtless, to the relief of the good citizens of Pedee, 
and the increase of the military ardor of the people. 

Another matter, aflFecting the interests of some of the in- 
habitants of Clieraws, as well as the public at large, came 
before the Legislature, under a petition, setting forth, " that 
a tobacco inspection, on the north-east side of the Pedee 
River, about ten miles above Clieraw Hill, at the head of 
navigation, would be a considerable advantage to the State, 
there being a large quantity of tobacco made on that side 
of the river ; and the inconveniency of crossing to the 
Cheraw Hill, occasions it to be carried to Cross Creek. We, 
therefore, recommend Parker's Ferry as a convenient place, 
and William Pegues, Thomas Powe, and Claudius Pegues, 
jun., Esqrs., for commissioners ; and as the proprietor will 
build warehouses, and furnish scales and weights at his own 
expense, we hope that your honorable body will establish 
it there, &c.^^ 

Signed by 
Thomas Powe George Hicks 

William Pegues Tristram Thomas 

Allen Chapman Samuel Taylor 

Claudius Pegues, sen. Lemuel Benton 

Claudius Pegues, jun. William Thomas. 

The committee reported favorably, and an Act was 
passed accordingly. At this session, the important subject 
of a new State Constitution was agitated, resulting in the 
determination of the Legislature that an election should be 
holden on the 26th and 27th of October ensuing, for delegates 
to a convention, to meet in Columbia, on the 2nd Monday 
in May, 1790, to consider the matter of the said Coustitu- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 451 

tion. For St. David^s Parish, Calvin Spencer, Benjamin 
Hicks, Lemuel Benton, Robert Ellison, Charles Evans, 
Morgan Brown, and Rev. Evan Pugh were duly elected 
delegates. 

At the session of 1789, Lemuel Benton was elected 
SheriflF for Cheraws District, and Benjamin Hicks, Clerk of • 
the Court of Common Pleas. And the following Justices, 
viz. : — for Marlborough, Drury Robertson ; for Ches- 
terfield, Duncan M'Rae and John Brown ; for Darlington, 
Alexander M'^Intosh and Absolom Sauls. Robert Baxter, 
one of the Representatives from St. David^s, died during the 
session. 

At a meeting of the Legislature, Jan. 1790, Henry 
Cannon and Charles Evans ajapear to have been the only 
members present from St. David^'s. On the 20th of Jan. the 
following County Court Justices were appointed : — for 
Darlington, Samuel Mathis, Henry Cannon, and Dr. Robert 
Norris, 

The Convention met in Columbia in May. The Con- 
stitution was adopted on the 3rd of June. It gave the 
Counties of Marlborough, Chesterfield, and Darlington two 
representatives each, and for the three, two senators. At 
the ensuing election, Morgan Brown and Robert Ellison 
were returned Senators. Thomas Evans and John Jones 
James, Representatives for Marlborough. Thomas Powe 
and Charles Evans for Chesterfield. John Huggins and 
Moses Fort for Darlington. John M'Ree was elected 
Representative for Liberty. The Legislature met on the 
4th Monday in Nov. Under the classification of the Senators 
elect, which had been adopted, Morgan Brown took his seat 
for four, and Mr. Ellison for two years. During this 
session, an Act was passed, remodelling the County Court 
system. " Three Judges or Justices of the County Courts 
were chosen for each county, by joint ballot of the two 
Houses of the Legislature, to preside in the respective 
Courts, which were held semi annually for the trial of causes ; 
but they were allowed no compensation for their services. 
Two intermediate courts were holden annually, for the 
transaction of business relating to roads, taverns, and the 

poor. 

G G 2 



452 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

" Although the administration of justice in these Courts 
tvas irregular, and in many instances unequal, owing chiefly 
to the want of legal information in those who were aji- 
pointed to preside therein, yet they were a great convenience 
to the community, considering the defects of the Circuit 
Court system of that day ; and much good, as well as some 
evil, resulted from their establishment. It was an im- 
portant step towards the attainment of that improved sys- 
tem which afterwards existed.""^ 

The number of justices for each county, being now 
limited to three, the position became correspondingly re- 
sponsible and important. 

In Jan. 1791, the Legislature elected, as County Court 
Judges, for 

Marlborough, Morgan Brown, Tristram Thomas, and 
William Thomas. 

For Chesterfield, Wm. Pegues, Thos. Powe, and Calvin 
Spencer. 

For Darlington, Hobert Ellison, Lemuel Benton, and John 
Smith. 

And as Justices of Quorum and the Peace, 

For Marlborough. 

Geo. Hicks Samuel Brown 

Thos. Evans Wm. Easterling 

Drury Robertson Richard Brockington 

Moses Pearson William Legg 
John Wilson 

For Chesterfield. 

Samuel Taylor Christopher Vernon 

Charles Evans Thos. Blakeney 

Wm. Strother Wm. Powe 

Robert Lowry Benjamin Rogers 
David Perkins 

For Darlington. 

John B. Turner Alexander M'Intosh 

Absolom Sauls Wm. M^Muldi'ough 

John M'Call L. Stanley, jun. 

Albert Fort Wm. Dewitt 
Henry Cannon 



* Brevard's " Introduction," p. xvi. 



HISTORY *0F THE OLP CHERAWS. 453 

On the 15th of January, the House was informed by Thos. 
Powe, one of the members elect for St. David^s, that he 
declined taking his seat ; and a new election was thereupon 
ordered. Lemuel Benton was elected Sheriff for Cheraws 
District. At this session, an Act was passed for improving 
the navigation of certain streams. Among others, Great 
Pedee Eiver, and Lynchers, Black, JefFrey^s and Cat Fish 
Creeks. Tristram Thomas, Morgan Brown, Wm. Pegues, 
Baron de Poelnittz, Alexander MTntosh, Moses Pearson, 
Wm. Strother, Nathanael Saunders, Samuel Benton, Thomo.s 
Evans, and Richard Brockington, were appointed Commis- 
sioners for the work on the Great Pedee, from the North 
Carolina line down to the mouth of Black Creek, under the 
name of the Upper Board of Commissioners on Pedee. 
The Lower Board, from the mouth of Black Creek to 
Euhaney Ferry, consisted of William Wilson, John M'Kee, 
Moses Mm-phy, Gavin Witherspoon, John Witherspoou, 
John Dozier, John Porter, Shadrach Simons, John Gregg, 
Thos. Benton, Abel Goodman, and Jas. Green. 

For Black Creek, from its mouth up to the Fork, the 
Commissioners appointed, were Lawtermore Edwards, Wm. 
M'Muldrough, Andrew Hunter, Henry Cannon, John King, 
John Saunders, and Albert Fort. For Lynchers Creek, 
from the plantation of Capt. Charles Evans, down to the 
Effingham Mills, to be known as the Upper Board ; Need- 
ham Lee, Daniel Du Bose, John Castle, John Huggins, 
James Marshall, Charles Evans, George Evans^ John Pigot, 
Elias Du Bose, and Absolom Sauls, And from the Effing- 
ham Mills to the mouth of the Creek, as the Lower Board, 
were William Goddard, Austin Stone, John Saunders, Lewis 
Harrall, John Smith, Robert Ellison, John James, James 
Brown, Isaiah Cookfield, Zachariah Cato, and Zachariah 
Nettles. 

Saturday, 18th of June, of this year, was a day famous 
in the history of the St. David's Society. The exhibition 
of the students attracted a very large audience, gathered for 
a distance from the country around, and was said to have 
surpassed any ever witnessed before. On the 27th of July, 
this society lost one of its active and prominent members, 
and Cheraw District a useful citizen, in the person of Dr. 



454 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

James P, Wilson. He died at his residence. Long 
Bluff.* 

In 1791;, the Circuit Court for the District of Cheraws, 
was, by Actf of Assembly, ordered to be holden at " The 
Cheraws.''^ This, however, was not done. The Court con- 
tinued to sit at Greenville, as before. In the same year, it 
was enacted,! that the Court of Equity, hitherto sitting in 
Charles-town, should be held at Columbia, for the Districts 
of Camden, Orangeburg, and Cheraw. In 1799, the State 
was divided into four Equity Circuits. Of these, the 
Northern was composed in part of Marlborough, Chester- 
field, and Darlington, the Court for which was to be held 
at Greenville. At the meeting of the Legislature in No- 
vember, the following Justices of the Peace, &c., were ap- 
pointed, viz. :-^for Marlborough, Geo. Cherry ; and for 
Darlington, Robert Lide, John Huggins, Evander M'lver, 
and Elias DuBose. The census of the State was taken in 
1792; and the return of population for Cheraw District, 
was as follows : — 

Free white males of 16 years and upwards . 1779 

„ „ „ under 16 years .... 1993 

„ „ females, including heads of families 3646 

All other free persons 59 

Slaves 3229 

Total 10,706 

In October of this year, Robert Ellison, whose term as 
senator had expired, was re-elected. And, as Represen- 
tatives, for 

Marlborough, 
John Jones James, Benjamin Hicks. 

Chesterfield, 
Wm. Falconer, Wm. Pegues. 

Darlington, 
Alexander Mcintosh, John Smith. 



* The funeral of Dr. Wilson took place on Sunday. The Rev. Edmund 
Botsford preached, on the occasion, an appi-opriate discourse, from 1 Cor. vii. 29. 
t "Statutes at Large," p. 26L % Ibid., p. 288. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 455 

The Legislature met on the 4th Monday in November^ and 
on the 3rd of December, Mr. Ellison presented a Petition from 
sundry inhabitants of Cheraw District, praying the passage 
of a law, for extending the time limited for the payment of 
the paper medium loaned to the petitioners, who had 
suffered so much in their crops by the extraordinary 
drought and freshets which had prevailed during the pre- 
vious summer, as to deprive them of the means of discharg- 
ing the same. It was referred to a Committee, consisting 
of Mr. Ellison, General Barnwell, and General Pinckney, 
who reported favorably ; and a bill was .introduced and 
passed accordingly. At the session of the following year, 
1793, the same members appeared for St. David's, and took 
their seats. For Liberty, John Baxter, and Gavin Wither- 
spoon for west part of Liberty. Alexander Craig was 
elected County Judge for Chesterfield in place of Samuel 
Taylor, who had left the country ; and Wm. Falconer, in 
place of Chi'istopher Vernon, who declined serving. For 
Marlborough, Benjamin Hicks, in the room of Morgan 
Brown. Robert Ellison was elected Sheriff, and Alexander 
M'^Intosh, Commissioner of Locations for Cheraws. 

Col. Benton was now in Congress, the first representa- 
tive in that body from the Pedee District. His political 
sentiments were very decided, and honestly and fearlessly 
maintained on all occasions. In certain traits of character 
he was not unlike his near relative, the late Senator Benton, 
of Missouri. Col. Benton was one of the party violently 
opposed to the administration of John Adams. He returned 
from Philadelphia in the latter part of April, 1794, to be- 
come involved for a time in a warm personal controversy. 
An extra session of the Legislature had been called to meet 
in Charleston, in May. A few days after it opened 
Major Tristram Thomas was elected General of the Cheraw 
Brigade. Col. Benton felt this very keenly, his friends 
attributing it to the fact of his absence, and to the use of 
unfair' means on the part of his opponent. General Thomas, 
however, was worthy of the position and of all honor, 
receiving a reward justly due for his past services. It was 
a matter deeply to be regretted, that these gentlemen, Avho 
had so lately fought side by side for their country, should 



456 HISTOEY OJF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

thus have been broug'ht into antagonism^ and especially as 
to a point so deeply touching the sensibilities of an old 
soldier as that of military precedence. Col. Benton resigned 
his command of the Cheraw Regiment, and was succeeded 
by Calvin Spencer. An election having been ordered, 
April 30th, to fill the place of senator, made vacant by the 
resignation of INIr. Ellison, who had been elected sheriff. 
Thomas Powe was returned, and took, his seat at the meet- 
ing of the Legislature in Charleston.^ 

On the 8th of August a large number of the citizens of 
Cheraws District met at the Court House, to consider the 
matter of jNIr. Jay^s celebrated treaty. Of the result of 
their action no record remains. 

On the 18th of August there was a destructive freshet in 
the Pedee. The river was higher than had been known 
since 1776. In the latter part of May of that year many 
of the inhabitants were forced to abandon their residences 
in tlie SAvamp, and fly for safety to the highlands. That 
rise was the greatest known since the settlement of the 
country, of which traditional accounts were handed down 
to a recent period. There has been some like it since. 
In January, 1796, another memorable rise occurred. It 
was not until a period long subsequent that attention began 
to be turned to the important subject of embankments. 
The means of the earlier settlers, however, were not equal 
to works of that kind on a large scale. The late Gen. D. 
R. Williams, of Darlington, is believed to have led the way 
in this kind of enterprise. He constructed very extensive 
embankments, which have proved of incalculable value since. 

In October of this year (1794) some very serious trouble 
(probably insurrectionary) was anticipated, and a strong 
guard stationed at Long Bluff. Of the histoiy of it, how- 
ever, nothing more is known. 

At the Full elections the following representatives were 
returned, viz. : for 

Marlborough, Chesterfield, Darlington, 

John Jones James. Wm. Falconer. Richard Brockington. 
Drury Robertson. James Blakeney. Ezckiel DuBose. 

At the ensuing session of the Legislature Gen. Thomas 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 457 

presented a petition fi'om sundry inhabitants of Darlington, 
for opening and making navigable Lowder^s Lake, from 
Herring Creek to the month thereof. A favorable report 
was made on the subject, and an Act passed appointing 
Richard Brockingtou, Wm. Brockiugton, George ]\l'Call, 
and Charles Dewitt, commissioners for carrying the same 
into effect. This legislation resulted in no material benefit. 
The work, if begun, is supposed to have been abandoned 
soon after. At this session £1000 were appropriated for 
repairing the Court House, and the erection of a new gaol 
at Long Bluff. 

Thomas Evans was elected County Judge for Marlborough 
in place of Wm. Thomas, resigned. 

Of the militia of the State, now di^dded into nine brigades, 
that of Cheraw, being No. 9, consisted of three regiments, 
viz. : — 

The 37th, Col. Thomas Evans. 
„ 38th, Col. Robert Ellison. 
„ ^9th, Col. Calvin Spencer. 

At the session of the Legislature of the following year 
the same senators and representatives appeared for Cheraw 
District and the three counties. 

At this session Gen. Thomas presented a petition from 
sundry inhabitants of Cheraw District, praying that the 
House would not grant the petition of the inhabitants of 
George-town, respecting the appointment of commissioners 
to elect a Measurer of lumber and an Inspector of beef, 
pork, and flour for said town. The petition from Cheraws 
was successful, as no act appears to have been passed on the 
subject. County Ji^dges were elected as follows : — for 
oNIarlborough, John Jones James, in place of Benj. Hicks, 
who had left the country ; and for Darlington, Alex. 
M'^Intosh, in place of Robert Ellison, who had been elected 
Sheriff for Cheraws. 

At the election holden in October, 1796, the same repre- 
sentatives were returned, with the exception of Richard 
Brockington, who was succeeded by Andrew Huntei", for 
Darlington. For Liberty were returned John M'Ree and 
Thomas Wickham. Wm. Thomas appeared as senator in 
place of Thomas Powe, and with. Gen. Thomas, took his 



458 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

seat. At this session a committee was appointed, consisting 
of Drury Robertson^ Joslma Saxon^ and Mr. Nott, to report 
how the amount appropriated for repairing the Court House 
and building a new gaol at Long Bluff had been expended. 
William Thomas was chosen one of eight electors to cast a 
vote for President of the United States. Sundry inhabi- 
tants of Marlborough had petitioned the Legislature for a 
canal to lead from Roger's Lake into Pedee River, and an 
Act was passed for that purpose, ajspointing Robert Allison, 
Edward Croslin, and Tristram Thomas commissioners, who 
were authorized to " open and keep in repair a canal of not 
more than fifty feet in width, to lead from any part of the 
said lake to such point on the river as they might deem fit,^^ 
and also, " to stop up Naked Creek at any point deemed 
most convenient, diverting the waters of the same through 
the said lake and canal, provided the expense should be 
defrayed by voluntary subscriptions, and the canal, when so 
opened, be free to all citizens and the country at large. ^' 
The proviso of the act probably led to the failure of the 
scheme. 

At the meeting of the Legislature in November, 1797, the 
same members appeared from Pedee. A petition was pre- 
sented from Robert Ellison, to be allowed to erect mills on 
Black Creek. A counter petition was also offered, object- 
ing to the same, on the ground that it would obstruct the 
navigation of said creek. The matter was referred to a 
committee, who recommended that the petition of Mr. 
Ellison should be granted, but with such restrictions and 
limitations as would obviate the objections raised. 

Alexander M'Intosh was elected ^eriff for Cheraws in 
the place of Robert Ellison, resigned, and Drury Robertson 
a County Judge for Marlborough. 

In the memorable canvass of 1798, in Darlington, for the 
Legislature, a name appeared which was destined to become 
distinguished in South Carolina. Samuel Wilds was one of 
four candidates. His competitors were Andrew Hunter, of 
revolutionary note, Ezekiel DuBose, just of age, and Wm. 
Zimmerman. Mr. Wilds was then in his twenty-third year. 
His early struggles against what seemed to be the most 
adverse fortune (for he was very poor, and left in charge of 
a large family of younger children, for whom their mother 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 459 

could not otlierwise proAdde)^ had of necessity kept the 
sphere of his labors and acquaintance alike limited. He 
was scarcely known beyond his immediate neighbourhood;, 
and to the few who had learned to appreciate him^ only 
known as a young man of promising parts, of noble cha- 
racter and high aspirations. Mr. Zimmerman was already 
a public man of prominent position, and young DuBose, in 
addition to attractive personal traits, had the advantage of 
a very extensive family connexion in his favor. He led the 
ticket, followed by Mr. Zimmerman. Young Wilds de- 
feated, but not disheartened, for he was moved by an emu- 
lation worthy of his future success, was soon to take the 
lead in turn, and reach the high position he attained, with a 
rapidity unprecedented, perhaps, in the history of the State. 

The former members, William Falconer and James 
Blakeuey, were returned for Chesterfield, and Drury Robert- 
son for Marlborough. William Whitfield appeared as a new 
member for the same county, in the place of John Jones 
James. For Liberty, John Ford and Lewis Harralson were 
elected. Captain John M'lver was returned a senator in 
place of General Thomas. 

Mr. Falconer, who for several sessions had been a mem- 
ber of the House from Chesterfield, now occupied a leading 
position in that body. Well educated and thoroughly 
trained, cool and fearless, shrewd as he was sarcastic, and 
ready and powerful withal in debate, he had few equals, and 
no superior in these respects, perhaps, in the halls of legis- 
lation or the forum. He was the acknowledged head of the 
Cheraw Bar, and was henceforth to have his name indis- 
• solubly connected with the most important change in the 
system of judicature of the State which had yet taken place. 
'•'At this time," says Judge Brevard, " the administration of 
justice was extremely tedious and defective. The jurisdic- 
tion of the County Courts was very limited, and in many of 
them justice was dispensed in a very loose and imperfect 
manner. The accumulation of business in the Circuit Courts 
had greatly increased, and the manner of despatching it was 
not always the best that might be practised to answer the 
purposes of public justice, and give satisfaction to the 
people. 

" In order to establish a uniform and more convenient 



460 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

system of judicature^ a bill was brought forward in the 
Legislature for instituting District Courts, in the several 
counties of the State, and in small sections of that part 
wherein County Courts were not established, and to arrange 
those Courts into several circuits or ridings. 

" The most zealous and able advocates of this project, were 
William Falconer, Esq., a member of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, from Chesterfield, and William Marshall, Esq., 
late one of the Judges of the Courts of Equity, a member of 
the Senate. It was carried, and passed into a law."^* 

At the following session, the same members appeared 
from Pedee. The Circuit Court Act of the previous year 
was revised and amended, and the County Courts, which 
had been retained in it — with very limited powers, however 
— were now for ever abolished. The system for the ad- 
ministration of justice, thus essentially changed, was to be 
carried into efi^ect as speedily as possible. 

Sheriffs were to be elected for them, and Courts of 
Ordinary also established in the several districts, and other 
important regiilations adopted. 

The term county was now laid aside, and that of district 
took its place, which has since been retained. The following 
gentlemen were elected sheriffs, viz : — For Marlborough 
District, Robert Allison ; for Chesterfield, Joel Bullard ; 
for Darlington, Alexander M'^Intosh. The Commissioners 
appointed for building and repairing the several Court Houses 
and gaols, were : — 

For Marlborough, 
William Thomas, Thomas Evans, 

Tristram Thomas, Benjamin Rogers. 

Drury Robertson, 

For Chesterfield, 
William Falconer, Thomas Powe, 

Calvin Spencer, Robert Lowry. 

William Pegues, 

For Darlington, 
Robert Ellison, Andrew Hunter. 

William Zimmerman, 

* Erevard's " Digest," Introduction, p. xix. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 461 

The dividing line between Chesterfield and Darlington 
had not, up to this time, been run out. 

An Act was accordingly passed at this session, appointing 
Alexander Craig, William Falconer, and Erasmvis Powe, 
Commissioners on the part of Chesterfield ; and Robert 
]llllisou, William Zimmerman, and D. R. Williams for Dar- 
lington, to establish said line. For some reason the work 
was not done ; and a second Act was afterwards passed, 
appointing for Chesterfield, William Falconer and Major 
John Dewitt, and for Darlington, John Norwood and 
Alexander M'Intosh, to run out and mark the line, as fixed 
by law. 

On the 11th of April, 1800, a very considerable shock of 
an earthquake was felt by many of the inhabitants on Pe- 
dee, the weather at the time being cloudy and warm for the 
season. 

In the canvass of 1800 for the Legislature, another ex- 
citing contest took place in Darlington. The same candidates 
appeared as in the fall of 1798 ; also Richard Brockington. 
Samuel Wilds, having been since at the Bar, was becoming 
more widely known, and being superior as a speaker to all 
his competitors, was elected without diflSculty. William 
Zimmerman retained his seat. In the canvass of 1802, 
which was also warmly contested, such was the popularity 
of Mr. Wilds, that he received the unanimous vote of the 
district, with but one exception, and that the vote of a man 
whom he had severely, and, doubtless, very justly scourged 
in Court. The same members were returned for the other 
districts, except Drury Robertson, of Marlborough, who was 
succeeded by David Stewart. For Liberty, Philip Bethea, 
sen., and James Ervin were elected. Alexander M'^Intosh 
was returned for the Senate, in the place of William Thomas, 
of Marlborough. William Zimmerman was elected sheriff, 
in place of Alexander M'Intosh, now in the Senate. 

About the year 1800, the total militia of the State, ac- 
cording to the most reliable returns, was supposed to be 
35,785. The Cheraw brigade. No. 9, numbered 2224. On 
the 29th of November, of this year, the following return 
was made of the Chesterfield regiment. Colonel Spencer 
commanding, viz. : — 



462 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



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HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 463 

Colonel Spencer became actively connected with St. David's 
Parish before the war. During the Revolution^ he served 
in several military capacities. About the commencement 
of the struggle, he contracted an engagement with Rebecca 
Ford, of the neighbourhood of George-town, and saw her 
but once while the conflict continued. It was on this occa- 
sion that the British, then in possession of that region, 
hearing he was to be at the family residence, laid a plan for 
his capture. Coming suddenly up, they surrounded the 
dwelling; the active lover, however, managing to escape in 
time to reach a mill-pond near by, into which he plunged so 
as to swim across and elude his pursuers. He was as swiftly 
followed and fired upon, and so pressed, that, finding escape 
hopeless, he surrendered himself, and was kept in confine- 
ment until a final exchange of prisoners at the cessation of 
hostilities. Soon after this, he married Miss Ford, and set- 
tled in Chesterfield District. After a long life of private 
virtue and public service, having filled various positions of 
honour and trust, his career was finished in January, 1801.^ 
Mrs. Spencer subsequently married Thomas Powe, the friend 
and companion, in peace and war, of her late husband. She 
survived Mr. Powe many years, and died about 1844, at an 
advanced age. 

The town of Chcraw was laid out, as heretofore men- 
tioned, about the year 176B. Called Chatham soon after, 
it seems, even in the popular language of the day, not long 
to have retained it. The name does not often appear among 
the records of the country immediately succeeding that 
period. An attempt was made many years after to revive 



* Among tlie effects of Colonel Spencer were several trunks of papers, among 
which were many letters and other manuscript matter of an early date, and 
beyond doubt of much historical value. Mrs. Spencer, during her widowliood 
and afterwards, to the close of her life, preserved these papers with scrupulous 
care. 

Soon after her deatli, the trunks, the contents of vvhieli seem never to have 
been carefully examined, were opened by her representatives. Such land papers 
as were supposed to be of value were taken out, and the rest destroyed. 

To much disa])pointment of this kind was the Author doomed, in his search 
among family records for documentary matter connected with the history of the 
Pedee, but in scarce another instance, to one like this, with the exception of 
Colonel Bentou's, the most valuable collection, perhaps, in this region. 



4(54 IIISTOKY OK Til 10 OM) OlIEUAWS. 

and conliniu' il, but failed. It Mas };(Mirnilly called Chcraw 
.11 ill, and \\\v VUcvuwh. 

It was supposcul at lirst, by tlu; iiiliahitaiits of llu^ lUMj^li- 
hoiiriiifjj country, that on account of its jjosition, bcinj^ at 
the head of navigation on the riv(>r, and its proximity to a 
larji^i^ and fertilt> region in North Carolina, it •would become 
a place of piM'nianei\t and increasing comnicri'ial im- 
p()rtane(\ It was, from an early piM'iod of its history, the 
s(>at of s(»veral cxtcnsivi* trading (>stablislnncnts ; but the 
expectation of tlu^ public was in the end, or for a longtinu> at 
least, disappointcnl. Having failed to become the scat of 
justice for (Micraws District, though strcnTU)Us ellorts were 
made to havi' it so, and jjroving at times vcM'y unhealthy; 
neither its ])opulation nor coinnu'rcc increased as rapidly as 
Avas anticipat(>d. It was described by oiu^* who rcnunnbcrcd 
it, as it was about 1793, to have contained then not more 
than a do/iMi houses. Tn 1802, a writer of that day, allud- 
ing to Chatliaui, said : " It is a small village, situated on 
(^licraw Hill, at \\\c head of navigation of PimIco K-iver. It 
contains a few stores, and givt>s encouragement to th(> trade of 
that part of this State, which is partly drawn from Is'orth 
Carolina, by the Yadkin river. When the navigation of 
this river bi^ciMucs open, it is probabh* .this scttlenuMit will 
seenre advantagi>s from the additional trad(> which will th(>n 
be carried on.'^f Tlu^ niuigation of the ri\(>r, for the im- 
proviMucnt of which si>veral acts had at dilleiHMit times been 
passed by the lj(>gislature, was not elVeetually opened, until 
tlie work was subscciucntly nmlcrtakcn by General P. R. 
AVilliams, and thi> lal(^ Havid (ircgg, of Society Hill, who 
carried it sueeessfnly into (>\c>eution. There were not only 
formidable obstructions in the shape of logs, often of vc>ry 
large size, the accumulation of ag(*s ; but in many plaei's 
the channel had to be turntul or cut di^cpcr, with a bottom 
somiMinu>s alnu)st as hard as rocU. A\'ith the iujprovcd 
navigation of the river, the town n^vived, and continued to 
advance until it reached a consid(>rablc di'grt>c of couuuercial 
importance^ for the interior. The ellorts which had been 



• Tho lute Lewis Mnlono Aycr, nlrondy nicnt.ionod. 
f Drayton's " View of Ciu'oliim," p. 212. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 



4G5 



made, by means of a canal a part of tlic way, to open the 
navigation of the river above the town, and through the 
Yadkin, into North Carobna, liad faih;d of sueeesH, and the 
waggons from that region continued to be the only means 
of transportation. 

In 18:20-21, the town was incorporated, and chiefly 
through the exertions of the late Governor John Lidc 
Wilson, then a mend)er of tlie L(!gislature, and (hx^ply in- 
terested in this as the region of his nativity, retained its 
early name of Cheraw instead of Chatham, as some desired, 
and to a certain extent it had been called. The first line of 
hills'^' rising above the river bottom were unfortunately 
cleared and built upon in the early settlement of the place, 
increasing its unhcalthfidness ever after. 

In 1800, the population of Cheraw District, accoiding to 
the returns of a Federal census then taken, showed an in- 
crease of n(;arly one hundred per cent, over that of 1792. 
It was as follows : — 

Free White Males. 

_, , ,^ Of 10, and or 10, ami 
Under 10. , i ^ i .„• 

under lo. uiidiT 2t). 

Marlborough, 839 3.31 299 

Chesterfield, 889 3G7 201 

Darlington, 1086 440 423 



Marlborough, 

Chesterfield, 

Darlington, 



26 to 15. 


Over 45, 


3il 


184 


371 


178 


493 


2G4 


328 


158 


3G9 


144 


499 


IG8 



Free White Females. 

700 270 427 

71 G 335 3G5 

1001 435 454 

Entire White Population. 
Marlborough, 3880; Chesterfield, 3995; Dar- 
lington, 52G3 13,138 

Colored. 
Marlborough, 1393; Chesterfield, 1148; Dar- 
lington, 2336. 4877 

Total . . . 18,015 

* One of these, many years since abandoned, lias been lonj^ luiovvn ns 
"Yankee Hill." Among the early settlerw, many came from the nortli for pur- 
poses of trade. Few of these, liowever, were very successful in Ixisiness. 

H II 



466 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

The year 1799 was rendered memorable in the history of 
the country as the last in the life of Washington. The 
event which plunged a nation into mourning was com- 
memorated by the citizens of Pedee^ the Rev. Evan Pugh 
having preached to a large concourse of people at Darling- 
ton Court HousCj a discourse appropriate to the occasion."^ 

Mr. Pugh himself, after a long life of useful and honor- 
able service for his fellow-men and his country, was two 
years after to follow the way of him to whom he had paid 
so just a tribute. Not more quiet in manner and unob- 
trusive in character, than assiduous in the discharge of duty 
and efficient in action, he was highly appreciated and 
revered, wherever known. t 

With its division into the three judicial districts of 
Marlborough, Chesterfield, and Darlington, the name of the 
Old Cheraw District was to pass away, and the stirring in- 
cidents and exciting scenes connected with its earlier history 
to be forgotten. J Long Bluff continued to be the seat of the 



* The text of this discourse was from 2 Timothy, ix. 7, 8, showing that this 
venerahle divine entertained no doubt as to the fact, which some of late years 
have made a question, whether Wasliington was a Christian. 

■f The following obituary, which appeared at the time, paying a just and 
truthful tribute to the memory of Mr. Pugh, will fitly give the closing chapter 
of his history : — 

" George-town, Wednesday, Jany. 19, 1803. 

" Died, on the 26th December last, at his plantation on Pedee River, Dar- 
lington District, in the 7lst year of his age, the Rev. Evan Pugh, A.M., pastor 
of the Baptist Church at Mount Pleasant. This venerable divine was a native 
of Pennsylvania, and educated in the principles of the Quakers ; but when he 
arrived at the years of manhood, and experienced what he believed to be a 
renovation of heart, by divine grace, he became a member of the Baptist Church. 
Soon after this, on his coming to this State, he engaged in a course of private 
studies for several years ; and having acquired a good acquaintance with the 
dead languages, and the most useful arts and sciences, but especially with 
theology, he entered on his ministerial labors in the year 1763, so that he had 
been nearly forty years in the public character of a gospel minister, and the whole 
of the time resident in this State. He was a man of sound judgment, of plain, 
unaffected manner, and of a cheerful, entertaining conversation. His character 
was imimpeached and amiable, his benevolence extensive, and his piety fervent. 

" He uas an affectionate relative, a good citizen, and an evangelic, excellent 
divine. ' Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright ; for the end of that 
man is peace.' " 

;J; It is almost incredible how entirely the knowledge of the leading events in 
the earlier history of the Pedee country, especially those inimediately preceding 
the Revolution, and of the judicial history of Clieraw District, had passed away. 
They are believed to have been entirely unknown to the older and more intelli- 
gent citizens. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 467 

Court of Equity " for the Cheraw Equity Circuit/' until the 
year 1824^ when the Court was ordered to be holden at 
Darlington Court House. 

A few years after the breaking up of the Cheraw District, 
its most distinguished advocate, William Falconer, was to 
pass away also. Mr. Falconer had acquired a large and 
lucrative practice. He was the terror, however, of the 
younger members of the Bar, as well as a formidable adver- 
sary of the more able and experienced. Astute and learned, 
unsparing and sarcastic, he was well qualified to take ad- 
vantage, as a special pleader, of every defect or informality, 
and to make the most of the weak points in his opponent's 
case."^ 

The advantages taken in this way, especially of the younger 
lawyers, led to a general combination against their common 
enemy, to which he was at length forced to succumb, so far, 
at least, as to change his practice essentially in the par- 
ticulars mentioned. The justice of the charge, so often 
made of latter days, against the system of special plead- 
ing, as contracted and dishonorable, may well be ques- 
tioned. 

A strict adherence generally to this system, would doubt- 
less have led to a more thorough training for the Bar, a 
clearer conception of cases, and with the narrowing of the 
issue by such a process, to a sharpening of the intellect, and 
a corresponding development of the logical j)owers, as 
well as a great saving of time and expense, by the exclu- 
sion of irrelevant evidence in the administration of justice. 
The social life of the Bar seems to have had no charms for 
Mr. Falconer. His friends and intimate companions were 
confined chiefly to the clients whom he faithfully served. 



* Mr. Falconer is said, by those of late years who remembered him, to have 
been overbearing, as well as morose. He could not brook opposition. Some- 
times he had to give way, when prudence dictated it. An anecdote is related 
illustrative of this. On one occasion, on his way to Camden, he met on the 
highway an up-country waggoner, of unpretending appearance, and a poor turn- 
out withal. The road was narrow, and the dignified attorney pursuing his 
course in his sulkey, was not disposed to give way. They met, :ind not a word 
passed. Mr. Falconer then ordered his servant to hand him his holsters, 
whereupon the waggoner, quietly reaching back, brought forth his rifle ; and 
Mr. F., not willing to give battle, turned out of the road, and allowed the 
stranger to pass ou. 

H II 2 



468 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 

To an incident which occurred in his private history, soon 
after his settlement at Long Bhiff, the moroseness of his dis- 
position afterwards has been in part attributed. The respect 
and confidence of the public, however, he never lost, and his 
talents and acquirements were brought into constant requi- 
sition in the service of society and the State, until the close 
of his career. The chairman for years of the Examining 
Committee of St. David^s Society, he was the terror of the 
young, and not less held in awe by the teachers of his day. 
Such was the appreciation of his attainments, that he was 
elected a member of the first Board of Trustees of the South 
Carolina College in 1801. Of his leading position in the 
Legislature, and the part he took in effecting a change in 
the system of judicature of the State, mention has been 
made. The following letter, written on his return from the 
Legislature in 1800, will give some idea of his style and 
business habits, as well as furnish an interesting relic of that 

period. 

"Montrose, 25tli December, 1800. 

■■:.. "Dear Sir, — Upon my arrival at home, I hasten to give 
you such information, concerning our public affairs, as I 
think may contribute either to your information or amuse- 
ment. For this purpose, I submit the inclosed papers and 
remarks. The democratic ferment, concerning which I shall 
have the pleasure of remarking personally to you, having, in 
some degree, after the elections, subsided, a strict and 
laborious investigation of the state of our finances occupied 
the attention of the Committee of Ways and Means. We 
scrutinized the report of the Comptroller General (marked 
No. 1), and the reports contained therein of both the 
Treasurers of the State. We personally examined those 
officers, fully and minutely ; and observed on the subject 
matter, and on their conduct, respectively, in our report of 
Ways and Means (marked No. 2). 

" Appropriate clauses for carrying into effect the spirit and 
intention of the said report of ways and means, have been 
inserted in the Act for raising supplies for the year 1800. 
The reason of my mentioning the contingent fund is to 
meet a variety of unforscen, small demands, continually 
incident to the executive department, which might be more 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 469 

easily and advantageously discharged with ready cash than 
by contracting, as heretofore, on credit ; and, that the appli- 
cation of that fund might, in future, undergo legislative 
examination. The inclosed papers exhibit a more correct 
statement, and a more comprehensive view of our fiscal 
arrangements than any heretofore which I have seen. And 
I notice, not without pleasure and becoming pride, how far 
the upper exceeds the lower division of the State in punc- 
tuality in the collection and due arrangement of the taxes. 
(See Nos. 3 and 4.) 

" In the Lieutenant-Governor's message (No. 2) herewith 
sent, you may perceive the correspondence which passed 
between him and the Governor of North Carolina on the 
subject of boundary. In consequence of the said message 
our Legislature resolved. That our State now, as heretofore, 
and particularly as expressed in a resolution on that sub- 
ject, in the year ] 792, professing the utmost readiness to 
appoint commissioners with full powers, to terminate, in a 
speedy and friendly manner, all differences with her sister 
State so soon as North Carolina shall appoint commissioners, 
with similar powers, to meet the commissioners of our 
State for that purpose ; will, and hereby does, the more to 
manifest her said intention, authorize and direct the Gover- 
nor of this State to invite the Government of North Caro- 
lina, in the event of that Government still adhering to her 
Bill of Rights, to meet our State in the Court of the 
United States, where the claim of territory may be consti- 
tutionally examined and adjusted : and to inform the 
Government of North Carolina that this State has appointed 
commissioners to take care of her interest, and to defend 
her claims in the said court. But, as it appeared from the 
documents which accompanied the said message, to be the 
intention of North Carolina, to open only that part of the 
line which is to the westward of the Catawba River j the 
commissioners of our State are authorized to commence and 
prosecute, in the said court, such process as may effect an 
adjustment of the whole line. The above is, as nearly as 
I can recollect, the substance of the adopted resolution. It 
is generally believed that this State will, along that part of 
the line which lies to the eastward of the said river, gain 



470 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

territory : for it is said that tlie commissioners wlio origi- 
nally made the last-mentioned part of the line, among other 
mistakes, were either ignorant of, or inattentive to, the 
difference between a statntc and a geographical mile. 

" The taxes this year are fifty cents per centum ad valorem 
on land, and fifty cents per head on slaves. The debt, for 
which one quarter dollar was separately imposed on slaves, 
is fully provided for, and the act imposing it is, therefore, 
repealed. The next payment of the paper medium is, again, 
as usual, transferred. That money is now in such good 
credit that a great part of the interest of last year was paid 
in specie. This money ought never to be destroyed, for it 
may produce a fund which may, after some time, be suffi- 
cient to pay, without the aid of taxes, the whole expenses 
of Government ! 

" I applied so intensely to the business before the Legis- 
lature, that, during its session, I could not find time to 
detail the proceedings thereof. 

" I am, with great regards, 

" My dear Sir, 

" Wm. Falconer. 

" Alexander Craig, Esquire." 

The " democratic ferment," to which allusion is made in 
this letter as " having subsided, in some degree, after the 
elections," was a subject touching Mr. Falconer sorely. 
Decided in their maintenance, and active in the propagation 
of his political sentiments, it was his lot, with many others, 
to fall with the Federal party in South Carolina in the 
final contest of that period. 

An eminent measure of success continued to reward his 
efforts at the Bar. But, after his political disappointment, 
his habits became dissipated. In May, 1805, he drove from 
his residence in Chesterfield to Camden, a distance of more 
than fifty miles, as counsel in the case of Henry Bochelle, 
indicted for murder, and returned home the same night. 
This extraordinary effort brought on a fever, from which 
he died.^ 



* This day's work not only ended in Mr. Falconer's death, hut killed the 
niare he drove, which was ii remarkable animal. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 471 

" Thus perished/' as Judge O'Neall justly remarks in 
his interesting sketch,"^ " one of the early luminaries of the 
law /■" and, as may with equal truth be added, the most 
distinguished advocate and public man, Samuel Wilds,t per- 
haps, excepted, who had yet appeared upon the Pedee ! 



* O'Neall's " Bench and Bar of South Carolina," vol. ii. p. 344. 
"I" Samuel Wilds was now much younger, and could hardly, therefore, be 
compared as a public man with Mr, Falconer. 



472 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Closing chapters — Pupils of St. David's afterwards distinguished — Ezra Pugh — 
His brilliant prospects and premature end — Charles Motte Lide — His early- 
life — Preparation for the Bar — Application for admission — Obstacle in the 
way — Speech on the occasion — Subsequent success — Removal to Georgia as 
a planter — His account of the undertaking, and locality there — Farewell — 
Return to Carolina — Memorable suit growing out of his father's will — Ex- 
tracts from speeches during progress of the case — Memorial to the Legisla- 
ture for relief — Appearance before a joint committee — Efliects of his speech 
— Disappointment and death — His habits and tastes, and opinions respecting 
him. 

With the close of the century the concluding chapters of 
this history must begin. Already much protracted beyond 
the design with which the work was originally undertaken, 
it cannot be pursued further (even did the continuous 
course of events on the Pedee abound in matter of sufficient 
interest to the present generation to invite to the task), than 
the presenting sketches of a few of those who, having been 
pupils in the Academy of St. David's prior to the year 1800, 
gave promise of a brilliant future, but passed away before 
most of those now living appeared upon the stage. 

Of others who subsequently emerged from the walls of 
that early school of learning, and rose to high distinction, 
filling a large place during the greater part of the first half 
of the present century in the history of the State, it will be 
unnecessary to speak. Their names, for there were not a 
few of these identified with the Pedee, can never be forgot- 
ten. With their marked traits of character, the results of 
their labors, and the leading incidents of their lives at the 
Bar, on the Bench, in Legislative Councils, in professional 
pursuits, and in other branches of the public service, we are 
yet familiar. While of others, who preceded them in the 
paths of usefulness or the race for fame, but little is now 
generally known. The first of these, in the order of time, 
was Ezra Pugh. He was the second son of the Rev. Evan 
Pugh, and born on Pedee in the year 1771. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 473 

As a youth, he was not more remarkable for amiability 
and excellence of character, than for those intellectual en- 
dowments which inspired the hope of a high degree of 
usefulness and success in life. One of his early companions 
in the school of St. David's, who was afterwards distin- 
guished for solidity of understanding, was often heard to 
say, that when students together, while he was applying 
himself closely, young Pugh, either unengaged or reading 
some other work, would, at the last moment, take up the* 
text-book, glance over the subject matter of the lesson, 
and grasp it as if by intuition ; and that with slight effort, 
he would readily solve the most difficult mathematical 
problems. 

Dr. Park, who was his early instructor, and afterwards 
associated during their college career with many of the 
most distinguished men of the State^ frequently remarked 
of Mr. Pugh, that he was, intellectually, the most remark- 
able young man he had ever known. After liis graduation, 
he appears to have devoted himself for some time to literary 
pursuits, preparatory to a profession, then studied law, was 
admitted to the Bar, and settled at George-town. The 
fond hopes of his friends, however, and the well-founded 
anticipations of the public, were blasted by his premature 
death, on the 29th of January, 1802, in the 31st year of 
his age. 

In a notice published at the time of this sad event, it 
was said : " a love of literature induced him, while young, 
to turn his attention to the study of a profession. This he 
accomplished with but very little pecuniary aid ; and by un- 
wearied diligence, he acquired a fund of useful informa- 
tion, which would have done honor to better circumstances. 

" A benevolent disposition, added to a strong memory and 
sound judgment, qualities rarely united in the same person, 
caused him to be esteemed by all who knew him, and be- 
loved by his more particular acquaintance.'^ 

Another, to whom tradition has assigned the highest 
place as a genius, though in its erratic form, was Charles 
Motte Lide, the third son of Col. Thomas Lide. 

He was born in what is now Marlborough District, during 
the times which preceded the Revolution, and seems to 



474 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

have exhibited in liis character and subsequent career the 
impress of that unsettled period. After an academical 
course in St. David's, he determined to apply himself to 
the study of the law, and remained in the office of Judge 
Brevard of Camden eighteen months. Intense application, 
with sedentary habits, led to a serious decline of health, 
which made it necessary for him to suspend his studies for 
three years. With returning strength, he went to Litch- 
field, Connecticut, and attended a full course of law lectures 
under the celebrated Judge Reeve. Returning to Sontli 
Carolina, he entered and remained nine months in the office 
of Thomas Parker, Esq., one of the leading lawyers of 
Charleston, with the intention of applying, at the end of 
that time, for admission to the Bar. But, an unexpected 
obstacle to the immediate accomplishment of his long 
cherished Avishes, was here interposed. For, after the com- 
mencement of his legal studies (in the year 1796), an Act 
was passed by the Legislature, requiring of every citizen of 
the State, who had not graduated in some college or uni- 
versity of the State or of the United States, or in some 
foreign university, to have served ^ regular clerkship, and 
read law in the office of a regular practising attorney of 
this State four years, as an indispensable preliminary to ad- 
mission to the Bar. With this exacting requisition, young 
Lide could not comply, without a more protracted pre- 
liminary confinement in some law office than he was now 
willing to undergo. For, deducting the time of his sick- 
ness, he had studied but three years and a half, of which 
one was spent out of the State. In this dilemma, he 
claimed admission as a matter of right, under the Act of 
1785, during the operation of which he had entered the 
office of Judge Brevard, and which prescribed no time. In 
deference to this claim, it was proposed by John B. Holmes, 
Esq., one of the gentlemen appointed on the examining 
committee, that Mr. Lide should argue the point before the 
Court. The suggestion of a proceeding so novel, doubtless 
originated, in part, in the desire to hear this gifted aspirant 
for legal honors, whose peculiar powers were already known. 
He cheerfully acceded ; and in the course of a week pre- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 475 

pared an elaborate speech^* which was delivered before the 
Court, composed of Judges Waties, Bay, Johnson, and 
Trezevant. 

The exordium and other portions of this speech, delivered 
under such extraordinary circumstances, as to clothe it with 
peculiar interest, were as follows : — 

" May it please the Court : — Plutarch informs us, that 
the first appearance of Demosthenes at the bar, was in his 
own cause. In this respect, may not I, without vanity, 
note the similarity of fortune. ' Kindred objects kindred 
thoughts inspire.' The same may be said of kindred situations. 
Oh, that I could feel the sympathy of situation so strongly, 
as to catch but a faint spark of that sublime fire which in- 
flamed the breast of this illustrious prince of eloquence, 
and gave to his tongue that vehemence of speech, which 
seldom fails to impart the persuasion of the soiil. 

" After serving a faithful apprenticeship to the common 
law, after persevering in my legal pursuits through diffi- 
culties and trials the most severe and afflictive — through 
poverty, through sickness, and almost through death — and 
having at length arrived at the gates of the court — at 
length presented myself at the portals of the law — does the 
iron finger of technical construction point my inadmissi- 
bility? Am I told of an intervening statute, which operates 
as a complete foreclosure on all the equities of my situation 
— confines me to a state of sub-infeudation, without hope of 
ever aspiring to the dignity of a tenant in capite — that this 
imaginary stumbling block which lies in limine, at the thres- 
hold of the Court, must be removed, before I am permitted 
to take a seat with the venerable fathers and worthy sons of 
the Common Law — that this supposed Chinese wall must 
be scaled on the ladders of reason, argument, and law, 
before I can be entitled to a passport to the temple of legal 
science ? This is literally and empliatically my situation ; 
and it is for this purpose, to remove this stumbling block. 



* For the manuscript papers of Mr. Lide, embracing liis speeches, with much 
other matter of interest, all prepared with much care, and as would appear, 
originally designed for publication in boolv form, the author is indebted to the 
kindness of a relative, a Mr. Lide, of Alabama. 



476 HISTORY OF TIIK OLD CIIERAWS. 

to scale this ideal wall, that I now appear, for the frst time, 
before the awful brow of a Court of Justice. I crave an 
indulgent hearing. I crave a respect for my feelings on 
this delicate and interesting occasion ; those feelings of imj 
nature wliich constitute the acme of my happiness or 
misery. 

" Previous to the Act of 1785, the admission of attorneys 
to the Bar depended on a rule of court. By that Act, 
examination is the only preliminary to the admission of 
natives. Under that statute I claim admission, and con- 
tend, that as I commenced my legal studies while it was 
in full operation and vigor, a right, a perfect right of ad- 
mission attached instanter, indefeasible by any subsequent 
Act of the Legislatui'c, This point, I hope to render 
luminous to the court, by the clearest rays of legal de- 
monstration. And though it is a question of immediate 
personal concern, I trust I shall be able to forget my own 
interest in it, and moving out of myself, found my argu- 
ments on the true explanation and sound exposition of the 
doctrine of ex post facto, and tlie principles of analogy, 
adopted by the English courts of justice, and recognised by 
our own in a great variety of cases. The definition which 
Judge Blackstone gives of an ex post facto law, relates only 
to crimes, notwithstanding the term itself is general and 
comprehensive, and ex vi termini embraces all acts as well civil 
as criminal. Making of law ex post facto, he tells us is — 
' when after an action (indifferent in itself) is committed, 
the Legislature then for the first time declares it to have 
been a crime, and inflicts a punishment upon the person 
who has committed it.^ But, immediately after remarking 
on the cruelty and injustice of such laws, more cruel and 
unjust thau even the laws of Caligula, he forgets the par- 
ticularity of his definition and draws his inference generally 
in the following words: 'all laws,^ mark the change of his 
language, ' all laws should be therefore made to commence 
in future and be notiKed before their commencement ; which 
is implied in the term prescribed.' It would be no ditfieult 
task, were it necessary, to point out other instances in 
Avhich even Judge Blackstone himself, this most learned 
and eloquent expounder of the law, has fallen into cou- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 477 

tradictions. Let me, therefore, a stripling, a little David, 
when compared to this Goliath of the law, be ou my guard. 
This will also serve to show, that I am not deterred by- 
high-sounding names, from a thorougli investigation of legal 
principles. But to return, I lay it down in as general 
terms as any rule can be laid down, that all laws, whatever 
may be the subject matter of them, should have a prospec- 
tive, and not a retrospective operation. It is easy to show,- 
that in those few instances in wliich there have been de- 
viations from this sacred principle of all legitimate legisla- 
tion, they have been bottomed, either upon principles of 
policy, or upon the broader and more benevolent principles 
of humanity. They have been temporary and partial sacri- 
fices of principle to principle. Shall I say that I have in 
my eye, the two principal cases of limitation and bankruptcy? 
Abstractly and independently considered, these laws and 
others of a similar nature are a direct violation of the prin- 
ciples of natural justice ; but in their general tendency, 
are salutary, equitable, and beneficial. The first is founded 
on the maxim, interest respublica ut finis sit litrum. The 
last is a noble sacrifice of justice at the shrine of humanity ; 
or to speak with more propriety, justice is of a composite 
nature, and includes necessarily iu itself the principles of 
humanity. They are a sine qua nou to each other, con- 
stituent parts of the same unity. In Great Britain, if no 
period is fixed for the commencement of a statute's opera- 
tion, it is of course considered binding from the first day of 
that session in wdiich it was enacted.'^ 

After arguing the point, he proceeds : — " I repeat it again 
and again : there is but one tense in legal philology, and 
that is the future ; there is but one vision, and that is pros- 
pective. The eye of the law, like that of the eagle, should 
be fixed on the sun, not on the earth — should look straight 
forward, taking no note of anything behind. If laws are 
allowed to have a Janus form — to have a double aspect, 
looking before and after, we may bid a final and mournful 
adieu to life, liberty, property, justice, and all those rights 
which mankind have hitherto ludd in the high(!st veneration, 
and pui'chascd at an inealcnlal)le expense of blood and trea- 
sure Was it possible for my dim eyes to penetrate 



478 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

the sliades of time and discover that Act, rising on the sur- 
face of futurity ? Is not prescience an acknowledged and 
essential attribute of the Deity — of that awful Being, with 
whom time and eternity are the same, and all knowledge 
merely intuitive ? Present circumstances are the only data 
of civil, as well as moral action. We must, from the very 
constitution of our frame, predicate all our hopes and all 
our plans, of whatever nature, upon what is, and not ujaon 
what is to be. This is the only firm basis of action, and 
those who do not build upon this rock will find themselves 
and all their works, sooner or later, involved in one large, 
promiscuous ruin. 

" ' Oh blindness to the future ! kindly given. 

That each may till the circle marked by heaven.' 

. . . . " If they can divest the student of a right of ad- 
mission at one time, they can surely do it at another ; if at 
one stage of his legal progress, at any and always. Where, 
then, is his security, — where his guarantee, — where the 
rock of his legal salvation ? 

'^ At the very instant he fancies himself standing on terra 
firma, — behold ! the ground, by the magic touch of a legis- 
lative wand, in the twinkling of an eye, converted into a 
Serbonian bog, in which he is awfully sunk, swallowed up 
and lost for ever, — 

" ' And in the lowest depth, 

A lower deep still opens to devour him.' " 

Having argued the legal point at length, he concludes : — 
" Standing, as I conceive I do, upon an unshaken basis, 
and girt with the double belt of principle and precedent, I 
might now enjoy the calm serenity of a mind confident of 
success, w^ere I not too sensible that all human confidence 
is vain. Let me therefore earnestly and pathetically entreat 
the Court, to give this question the most mature considera- 
tion before they make a decision, Avhich^ if in the negative, 
involves consequences to me of the most serious import, 
and will give an entirely new modification to my situation, 
hopes, and future prospects." 

This efibrt of Mr. Lide was unavailing. For, on the 
day after the delivery of the speech, Judge Waties, calling 



HISTORY or THE OLD CHE RAWS. 479 

him up to the bench, politely complimented him, and pri- 
vately delivering the opinion of the court, expressed regret 
that they could not comply with the prayer of his petition. 
He observed, that some of the judges refused to pay any 
attention to the Act of 1796, — Judge Burke, in particular, 
having publicly declared, that he would not be bound by 
that Act. Accordingly, after the passing of that statute, 
admissions had been made to the Bar of students who could 
not comply with its requisitions ; several having been ad- 
mitted but a short time previous to the application of Mr. 
Lide. Judge Waties declared, that, as to himself, he revolted 
at the idea of disregarding a solemn act of the Legislature. 
Mr. Lide then entreated the judge to bend the law so as 
to accommodate it to the peculiar circumstances of his case, 
urging that the long suspension of his legal studies by sick- 
ness, was the only thing which brought him under its 
operation ; that this was the visitation of Providence, and 
the maxim would appl^^. Actus Dei nemini facit injuriam. 

" ^\y," said Judge Waties, in reply, with some degree 
of resentment, " we do not grant favors.^^ " Sir,"^ replied 
Mr. Lide, " I am better acquainted with the office and duty 
of a judge, than to ask them. All I request, is, that the 
Court Avill bend, not break the law : the expression is legal 
and proper, and frequently used by the judges of Eng- 
land.^^ 

" At this stage of the conversation,^' continues Mr. Lide 
in his narrative, " Judge Bay, with that natural goodness 
and politeness which sometimes outstrip his understanding, 
expressed to me his regret that I had not made my appli- 
cation for admission sooner. Upon which, I observed that 
the law and the circumstances were the same ; that I knew 
there was a tide in human affairs, but had no conception 
that it extended to and influenced courts of justice. This 
was decisive, and admitted of no reply. ^' Perceiving the 
inflexible determination of the Court, Mr. Lide retired, both 
mortified and disappointed ; but feeling, as he said, that it 
was one of the proudest days of his life. He was not only 
complimented by the Judge, but immediately after the 
delivery of the speech, John Julius Pringle, one of the most 
distinguished advocates of Charleston, who was present 



480 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

and attentive throughout, approached the youthful pleader, 
and entering into conversation, very familiarly and oblig- 
ingly asked him several questions respecting his future 
intentions and prospects, adding, that in consequence of 
some expressions used in the exordium of the speech, the 
gentlemen of the Bar stood ready to furnish him with any 
pecuniary means which might be needed to prosecute his 
legal studies, and had requested him (Mr. Pringle) to com- 
municate their disposition in this respect, but that he had 
informed them there was no occasion for it, as Mr. Lide^s 
means were fully sufficient. After quitting the office of 
Mr. Parker in the spring of 1800, j\Ir. Lide went to 
Columbia as a student, and soon after, on his own affidavit, 
covering the deficiency as to time, was admitted to the Bar 
during the same year. He had intended settling in Colum- 
bia as a lawyer, but during the delay caused by the unex- 
pected obstacle thrown in his way, another gentleman came 
in and established himself there in full practice, marring 
the prospect, as Mr. Lide feared, for his own early success. 
He, therefore, unfortunately determined, after remaining at 
the Bar twelve months, to relinquish the pursuit, and estab- 
lished himself as a planter on Crooked Kiver, Camden 
County, Georgia. This, as he says, " was an enterprise of 
the most arduous, romantic, and alpine nature. But in- 
dustry and perseverance conquered every difficulty. I 
called the tract of land which I purchased of Mr. James 
Seagrove, ' the Asylum.^ Shortly after my arrival there, 
in a letter to a friend, I thus correctly depicted the exist- 
ing scenery: ' On my first debarkation at this place I 
found it completely under the dominion of nature. The 
hand of culture had not presumed to intrench on her rights, 
nor the axe to violate the long and sacred silence of the 
forest. Here the owl has long maintained his ancient and 
solitary reign, and from his nightly court still issues dread- 
ful proclamations to warn me against encroachments on his 
territory. I pitched my tent of moss under a large white 
oak, which afforded me a kind and protective shelter till a few 
days ago, when I decamped under my present habitation. 
In gratitude I have suffered him to retain his ancient and 
venerable seat, though his neighbours have long since fallen 



HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 481 

around him. When he does fallj he shall fall with all the 
leafy honors of the forest at his side/' 

" After transforming a wild wood into a cultivated field, 
in the fall of 1803/^ he afterwards wrote, having remained 
there only eighteen months, " I disposed of land, negroes, 
and crops to Messrs. Wood and Drysdale, two gentlemen 
from the Bahama Islands. When the sale was completed 
my spirits underwent a remarkable and visible depression ; 
and in this melancholy mood I composed the following 
valedictory, which breathes something of the tenderness of 
Ossian. 

" Farewell, sweet Asylum, which received me into your 
friendly bosom at a time when anxiety and despondency 
corroded my health, and jjoverty grinned upon my heels. 
Farewell, ye lovely flowers, ye golden blossoms,"^ which daily 
expand your little bosoms to kiss the mid-day sunbeam. 
Farewell, thou surrounding forest, that hast so long darkened 
my solitude, and cast a browner horror on my cares. How 
often have you listened with anxious dread to the cry of my 
axes and the crash of your cotemporary trees ! You, too, 
must soon yield to the persevering vigor of the axe. You, 
too, must soon lay your tall heads low and moulder into 
dust ! And thou, majestic and venerable White Oak, under 
whose protective wing, on the broad platform of nature, I 
have so often reposed, adieu ! 

" It is true that I have stript you partially of your 
leafy honors jf but it was done from a benevolent motive, 
to extend your branches, and to clad you with more luxu- 
riant foliage. Farewell, thou meandering stream, on whose 
silent, sacred banks I have so long lived. How often have 
I floated on the full swell of your rapid, boiling tide \ 
Once did I sleep upon your bosom. No longer will you 
contribute to my health, convenience, or repose. No longer 
will you pass in sympathetic silence the door of my moss- 
stuffed hut. And thou, good genius of the hommock who, 
after witnessing all my cares, and all my toils, hast at 
length smiled upon my labors and crowned them with suc- 
cess, farewell, a long farewell ! 



* " Cotton blossoms." •{■ " I had it topped.'* 

I I 



482 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

" Think not tliat I am ungrateful for your favors. No, 
far be it from me. Necessity alone has compelled me to 
renounce my allegiance to you, to withdraw from your soli- 
tary domain, and to relinquish the cultivation of your 
favorite plant. Be still propitious. Let your smiles 
accompany me while I go to revisit friends who have long 
known and loved me, and scenes which have been familiar 
to my earliest youth V 

The profession of the law not appearing to Mr. Lide, as 
he says, " to promise a remuneration by any means ade- 
quate to the great sacrifices of time, of property, and above 
all, of health, that he had made in order to qualify himself 
for it,^^ he resolved to abandon it. " At that time," he 
remarks, " the long staple or black-seed cotton was held in 
high estimation, and generally regarded as the shortest and 
surest road to wealth. The South of Georgia was consi- 
dered by Col. Hampton and myself the finest theatre of 
success." Col. Hampton furnished him with letters, advice, 
&c. Accordingly, in the early part of the following year, 
1802, he went to Virginia to purchase negroes, and soon 
after removed to Georgia. But having invested a part of 
his funds in another undertaking, it led to financial embar- 
rassment, and the breaking up of the cotton enterprise just 
as it had progressed to a point to become remunerative. 

In the fall of 1803 he returned to Carolina, and resumed 
the practice of the law, but irregularly and without that 
spirit and determination which alone could ensure success. 
The memorable and protracted suit, growing out of the will 
of his father. Col. Thomas Lide, from its beginning in 1806, 
appears to have absorbed all his energies and called forth all 
his powers. 

Col. Lide had contracted a third marriage with Mrs. 
Mehitabel Irby. By a will, executed during his last illness, 
provision was made for an annuity to his widow. It was 
alleged that this was done on the ground there would be a 
posthumous heir, which proved not to be the case ; and 
that false representations had been made, and undue in- 
fluence brought to bear upon the testator when in a very 
weak state of mind, to that end. The representatives of 
Mrs. Lide afterward claimed the annuity, with interest, for 



HISTOEY 0¥ THE OLD CHKRAWS. 483 

a term of years. The claim was resisted by the heirs of 
Col. Lide, chiefly on the grounds mentioned^ and hence the 
suit. Charles Motte Lide was^ therefore^ personally and 
deeply interested in the result. During the progress of the 
case he delivered the most elaborate speeches, fidl of legal 
learning and abounding in classical lore, rising at times to 
a degree of pathos, which, with his peculiar manner and 
brilliant powers, made a deep and lasting impression on 
those who heard him. The extracts already given from 
his pen, with those of the speeches which are to follow, will 
convey some idea, though of course imperfectly, of what he 
was at the Bar. Contemporaneous testimony, as well as 
tradition, assign him a very high place in point of oratorical 
power, not only before the juries of the country, but the 
more enlightened audiences of the day. As often the case 
with those who have been highly gifted, the most brilliant 
flashes of his wit and eloquence were doubtless called forth 
under the stimulus of the occasion, and hence not pre- 
served. 

In June term, 1814, he pronounced before Judge Thomp- 
son, and a deeply interested and profoundly attentive 
audience, a speech, of which the following Was the exor- 
dium : — 

" May it please your Honor : after revolving like a planet, 
and like this case, through all the signs of the zodiac, after 
experiencing all the changes of changeful fortune, after 
passing through a vast variety of untried being and of woe, 
I am at length, through the capricious revolution of time 
and of accident, reluctantly driven back to the ' dull debate, 
the noisy bar,^ and placed in this forum in order to raise 
my hand and voice in a cause, in which I would cheerfully 
expend the last cent of my property, and heartily shed the 
last drop of my blood. 

" Fortunate, indeed, is the coincidence, and singularly 
happy is the man, though the necessity in this particular 
case is ever and deeply to be regretted, in whose favor duty 
and inclination are thus made, providentially, "to unite and 
co-operate. In this arrangement and concurrence I see 
distinctly the hand of Providence. Cui bono, for what good 
end, or for what wise purpose, have I been protected and 

I I 2 



484 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

preserved through unparalleled difficulties^ through unprece- 
dented afflictions^, misfortunes and trials but for this high 
argument,, this unattempted theme. Kely upon it, 

" ' Tliere is a Providence that shapes our ends. 
Rough hew them as we will.' 

" To correct injustice is at all times and on all occasions 
to discharge a pleasing, a beneficent^ and even a god-like 
office. In this instance it is also to perform a moral and a 
political duty. It is a duty I owe to myself, it is a duty I 
owe to the other devisees and co-defendants^ it is a duty I 
owe to my country. But a stronger, a higher, a more 
sacred motive animates me. Filial piety demands it of me. 
Methinks I see the shade of my father looking down with 
indignation on the ungrateful ruin and unmerited devasta- 
tion of his family, frowning upon me for imavoidable inat- 
tention and delay, impatiently beckoning, and imperatively 
demanding of me to make this exertion, in order, to use the 
forcible language of Judge Buller, to ' blot out the blot' 
which has been so unworthily affixed by the decree now to 
be reviewed, to his memory and understanding ; and as far 
as possible to mitigate and to correct the calamitous effects 
which it has so unjustly wrought and accomplished. '^ 

" On this solemn occasion," he subsequently exclaimed, 
" I act a far more interesting and important, though less 
conspicuous part, than the eloquent Symmachus when he 
pled before the throne of the Emperor Valentinian for the 
Gods of Rome. He advocated the cause and reign of poly- 
theism ; / advocate the cause and dominion of justice and 
of law. He prayed and entreated for the restoration of the 
altar of victory ; / supplicate for the restoration, or rather, 
recognition of the remedies by rehearing or bill of review. 
He plead for the continuance and preservation of an idle 
superstition, already undermined by the then new-light of 
Christianity; I plead for the conservation and perpetuation 
of our whole system of eqiiity. It is not, then, my cause 
alone which I this day plead ; it is the cause of my family, 
it is the cause of justice, it is the cause of the constitution 
and laws, it is the cause of the entire mass of the commu- 
nity. ' Whatever, therefore/ in the words of a memorable 
and distinguished orator, ' can best encourage and animate 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CllERAWS. 485 

to diligence and to energy ; whatever is most powerful and 
influencing upon a mind not callous to every sentiment of 
gratitude and honor, demand at this moment the exercise 
of every function and faculty that I am master of.^ '^ 

The counsel for the defendants having given up all 
hope of success in consequence of an adverse decision 
previously made, and virtually abandoned the cause, he 
proceeds to comment upon their course : " under this 
chilling impression, after the second verdict in the Court 
of Common Pleas, and the consequent decree in Equity, 
both of which were adverse, their counsel imprudently 
and suicidally abandoned the cause in despair. Never, 
surely, was there less room for the indulgence of this 
last freezing sentiment of the human heart. On the con- 
trary, their motto or principle of inspiration should have 
been that which encircles the arms of the State, Dum spiro 
spero. Most unfortunately, however, the breasts of the 
defendants' counsel did not glow with this noble, manly, 
soul-inspiring, magulinimous, and Spartan-like sentiment. 
Just in this awkward, timorous, and short-hand way, was 
the best and most hopeful cause in the world cruelly, un- 
naturally, completely, and prematurely butchered and sacri- 
ficed by those who were entrusted with its defence, and who 
should have cherished and sustained its precious being to 
the last period of its legal existence. To the bright morn- 
ing of its commencement, there unexpectedly succeeded a 
long and dreary night of terrible gloom, of clouds and 
thick darkness. 

" Had the counsel for the defendants, instead of being 
struck with dismay, have again carried the case up, in their 
turn, to the Constitutional Court, as in this mode of pro- 
cedure they ought to have done, the good nature, if not 
the good sense of the Court, there being verdict against 
verdict, and the scales of justice, abstractedly considered, 
hanging in equipoise, would, upon mere motion and as a 
matter entirely of course, have granted a second new trial. 
In fact, it is reasonable to suppose, that they would have 
exulted in the opportunity of reviewing their former decision. 

" But, instead of this having been done, the cause was, as 
just stated^ horribly smothered and strangled to death in its 



486 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

cradle. During the whole of these latter proceedings I was 
at a distance from the scene of decision, and in absolute 
ignorance of them. For, after the first verdict, I had sup- 
posed on good authority that the cause was at an end. 
Nor was I awakened from this state of tranquil ignorance 
and agreeable delusion until the execution against myself 
arrived at Laurensville, near to which place I at that time 
resided, and announced to me the mournful result of the 
contest. I immediately determined on resistance ; but 
owing to pecuniary embarrassments, was compelled to post- 
pone it to a more convenient time. In confirmation of this 
assertion I shall make an extract from a letter, a copy of 
which I preserved, addressed, very shortly after the arrival 
of the execution, to Duncan M'Rae, Esq., the administrator, 
cum testamento annexo, of the estate of the devisor, in which 
I distinctly and strongly announced this resolution and in- 
tention. It is in these words : ' This business,'' alluding 
to this suit, ' shall not stop here ; these waters must be 
troubled ; and, if necessary, it shall be4he occupation of the 
remaining part of my life, to keep them in constant and 
boiling agitation.^ . . . Having finished the woeful, 
Romeo and Juliet tale of this short-lived and luckless case, 
thus prematurely terminated, I will now attempt to give, what 
should have been, according to my ideas, its actual history. 
This will be best accomplished by a criticism on the pro- 
ceedings both at law and in equity, which have just been 
briefly narrated. 

" Disdaining then all idle ceremony and the vain imperti- 
nence of forms, let us utter our sentiments with freedom 
but not without respect.''^ 

He then proceeds to a most detailed, elaborate, and able 
examination of the facts of the case from the beginning, 
with the principles of law and equity involved, citing with 
learned comments, a vast array of authorities, occasionally 
digressing, as in the following instance. Referring to 
Blackstone, he adds : — " Having frequently had occasion to 
cite this great authority, I can no longer refrain from giving 
expression to those strong and ardent feelings of gratitude, 
which arc so justly and eminently due, not only from my- 
self, but from the whole legal corps, to this illustrious 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 487 

author, for the immeuse advantages derived, and to be de- 
rived, ' to the last syllable of recorded time/ from his toil- 
some labors and erudite lucubrations. As Mr. Cumberland 
observes of Dr. Johnson, Etiam mutuas loquitur, I take no 
notice of the labors or attempts of Sir Matthew Hale, 
though they are not without their value or utility. The 
incomparable Blackstone first educed order out of chaos, 
and elevated the study of law to the rank and dignity of a 
science. His successors, and they are many, and great, 
and learned, are only treading in his footsteps. 

" He first, a poor orphan boy — let not the great and 
wealthy plume themselves too much; this orphan boy, I 
say, first erected this vast, magnificent pile, and they, his 
successors, are merely adding the superficial ornaments. 

" ' With nice distinctions glossing o'er the text. 
Obscure in meaning, and with words pcrplext; 
With subtleties on subtleties refin'd, 
Meant to divide and subdivide the mind ; 
Keeping the frowardness of youth in awe. 
The scowling Blackstone bears the train of law.' " 

He finally concludes in these words : — 

" ' There is,' says a feeling orator, ' a principle of re- 
sistance in mankind, which will not brook ^ucli injuries, 
and a good cause and a good heart, will animate men to 
struggle in proportion to the size of their wrongs, and the 
grossness of their oppressors. On this principle, like 
Hamlet, I have pried with an eager, inquisitive, insati- 
able, and unsatisfied curiosity, into the most obscure, hidden, 
and minute circumstances of this cause 

" On this principle, I have attempted faintly to imitate 
the sublime conduct, the exalted and devotional patriotism 
of Curtius, and have leaped into, in order to close for ever, 
this dreadful, yawning gulf to the best hopes, interests, 
and prospects of myself and family. On this principle, I 
have struggled, and on this principle, will I continue to 
struggle, till the last, expiring, convulsive gasp of this 
singularly unfortunate cause. I will exhaust, before I have 
done, all the resources of which I am possessed, of informa- 
tion and learning, of genius and judgment, of invention and 
argument. If possible, I will, as far as relates to this 
cause^ exhaust even the legal and equitable codes. I will 



488 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

exert every nerve, strain every muscle^ rouse and display 
every power and every principle of energy which exist in 
me, whether corporeal or mental. 

" In this case,, 1 am a torrent shooting down the sub- 
lime slope of the Andes, a mighty river overwhelming its 
grand and elevated banks, and pouring its accumulated 
flood into the capacious and expansive bosom of the ocean. 
To arrest such a torrent, to oppose such a river, would be 
almost as idle and vain, as to stop the sun in mid-career, or 
nature in her rapid and majestic course. To fall by such 
proceedings and decisions as I have exhibited to your honor, 
would indeed be to be ' brained by a lady's fan,^ and to 
perish in the style of the mock-heroic. Such a contempti- 
ble denouement of this drama, would completely take 
away all dignity from distress, would be not less ridiculous 
than calamitous. To avoid this fate, to prevent such a 
' heel and catastrophe' to this wretched cause, are the true 
objects of that unwearied industry, of that patient toil, of 
that midnight research, to which I have so long and 
cheerfully submitted, in its investigation and development. 
But, if after all shall have been said and done, I cannot 
ultimately command, it must, at least, be universally ad- 
mitted, that I shall have deserved the most rare, the most 
signal, and the most glorious success." 

This speech, of which only a few extracts have been given, 
must have occupied the greater part of the day in its de- 
livery. Major Blanding, afterwards so distinguished at the 
Bar, was the opposing counsel. The decision of the Judge 
was adverse, ordering and decreeing that the application for 
a rehearing be rejected. In the delivery of the opinion, 
however, the Judge admitted •' that a bill of review would 
lie, provided a case was made out, competent to warrant and 
sustain it.'^ This Mr. Lide considered a " great point 
gained," in the final prosecution of the cause. " It gave 
mc," as he said, "what Archimedes wanted for his instru- 
ments, in order to move the earth — a place on which to 
plant my legal and argumentative machines before the Court 
of Appeals in Equity." 

To this last appeal to the courts of the country, he now 
applied himself with unwearied and extraordinary assiduity. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 489 

knowing tliat if against liim, the decision would be final. 
The result of his preparatory labors in the effort made^ was 
an enduring monument to his patient research, his sleepless 
application, his inventive power, and legal erudition. 

The cause was argued before the Appeal Court in Equity, 
at Columbia, on the 25th and 26th of November, 1814. 
" It is with a mixed feeling of pride and gratitude,^^ Mr. 
Lide remarks, " that the Equity Chamber was crowded and 
adorned with the wisdom and gravity of age, as well as with 
the sprightly intelligence and laudable curiosity of youth." 

The argument was introduced by a few observations, 

which he deemed appropriate, as follows : — " ' We 

hold it,' says Junius, addressing himself to Dr. Blackstone, 
' that the cause of an injured individual,' and I may pre- 
sume to add, much more that of an almost ruined family, 
' is interesting to the public' I recall to the recollection 
of your Honors this just, wise, politic, and truly patriotic 
sentiment, because I am extremely anxious to secure to 
myself the attention and respect of the Court. For on this 
occasion I am sadly serious. Pardon then, in the course of 
this great struggle, something to my feelings. My old 
literary friend, Burke, has taught me, that such is the com- 
plexity of human afiairs, that men sometimes unavoidably 
find themselves in strange situations ; ' but the Judges,' says 
he, ' should always be the same.' And Curran has also in- 
formed me, ' that had it not have been for the boldness of 
Nathan's parable, his candor might have cost him his head.' 
But truth speaks with such a lofty warning voice, in accents 
so strong and so awe-inspiring, that she astounds the callous 
front of guilt, disarms the hand of power, and places con- 
science at pleasure, and in submissive acquiescence, under 
the mighty sway of her awful sceptre. 

" Besides, may it please your Honors, I am about to con- 
tend for all which can interest me, whether considered as an 
isolated being, or as a member of a private family, or, of 
that greater family of my fellow-citizens, the community. 

" And therefore, I shall follow an example, which on no 
other occasion would I even think of following — the example 
of Richard the Third, and mount ' black Surrey for the field 
to-day.' 



490 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

" I took the liberty to allude to my family. One member 
of that small family has fallen, partly, I think, under the 
corroding effects of this decree, and is now sleeping with 
his fathers. Peace be to his ashes, and eternal rest to his 
soul. Another member of that unfortunate family still 
survives, on whom Providence, in his mysterious and in- 
scrutable dispensations, for wise purposes, no doubt, hath 
grievously inflicted his chastening rod. It is on his account 
that I am chiefly solicitous. For myself, I am under no 
apprehensions. That Being who feeds the raven, yea, even 
the young raven, will take care of me. For we are assured 
that a sparrow falls not to the ground, unnoticed by his 
vigilant and parental eye. 

" ' Oh, for a mnse of fire. 
To ascend the brightest heaven of invention. 
An empire for a stage, heroes to act, 
And princes to behold, the swelling scene.' 

" May it please your Honors : 

" From the great importance and extreme length of this 
case, it was absolutely necessary to follow the rules of the 
dramatic art, and to distribute into three acts this vast and 
tragic drama. Already, twice in valiant conflict have I en- 
countered the foe. Once, at Chambers, did I startle and 
touch him with the point of IthurieFs spear. The argument 
in the Circuit Court of Equity, at Cheraw, appalled the ad- 
verse counsel and his client. This worthy duumvirate 

looked like wretches, smitten and blasted by the lightning 
of heaven. They trembled ! good God, how they trembled ! 
It was the couching of the Norman lance, before the de- 
generate Greeks, of the Roman-Eastern empire. Again I 
enter the lists, with my loins girt about, and my lamp 
trimmed and burning — emaciated, it is true, but not ex- 
hausted. No, may it please your Honors, my genius for 
legal warfare is not yet exhausted, nor will it be, nor can it 
be, so long as a single patch, or thread, or particle is left of 
this Sybilline record — so long as a single question out of it 
starts up, dares to raise its hydra head, to be cut ofi" by the 
giant arm of law and logic. This well-fought field is not 
yet abandoned with dismay and despair, the hostile armor of 
attack and defence is not yet broken to pieces and cast away 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 491 

by either conflicting party, nor will it be until tbis honorable 
Court shall interpose, and by its decision put a final period 
to the contest. Twice, I repeat, have I already, at great 
length, argued this cause, and this is my third, formal, 
and I trust last effort. Under this cheering hope, I do 
therefore enter this Court, with the heart-felt joy of a sailor, 
' long tossed at sea and all his viands spent,^ on the dis- 
covery of land, of terra firma, and with the buoyant prospect 
of a speedy termination to his rough and toilsome voyage. 
Incessantly agitated, and wearied in mind and in body, it 
may readily be supposed and believed that I enter this 
august hall of justice with the ecstasy and fluttering wings 
of the stray dove, in its return to Noah^s Ark, to find a 
resting place, a home and a nest, in the fond wish and ex- 
pectation of final dismission hence, with lightsome heart, 
with my ' crest elevated by hope and heightened by joy,' and 
my temples bound around and decorated with the laurel 
wi'eath of victory, won in all ' the pride, pomp, and circum- 
stance of glorious war ' — to pursue, in peaceful silence and 
improAdng solitude, that plan of legal studies which I have 
crayoned out for myself. Should this, however, not be the 
case, and this ray of hope be dashed to the ground — but I 
will not anticipate the judgment of the Court. 

" ' The dawn is over-cast, the morning lowers. 
And heavily in clouds 

Brings on the day, the great, the important day — 
Big with the fate of Cato, and of Rome.' 

" I cannot help reflecting on the peculiarity of fortune, 
which perpetually imposes on me the necessity of appearing 
and re-appearing, in my own case. With Burke, I may 
truly say, Nitor in adversum is the motto for a man like 
me. I am not, however, without consolation and encou- 
ragement from high examples. Demosthenes and Cicero 
were both subjected to the same fortune, though, I believe, 
not in so great degree. Cicero pleaded pro domo, for his 
own house, burned down by a faction ; and Demosthenes 
made a noble stand in persona, against his guardian, who 
had defrauded him of part of his estate. I, too, may pre- 
sume to venture on the same ground, and draw my weapon, 
in self-defence, surely, — 



492 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

" ' Unless self-cliarity be some time a vice. 
And to defend ourselves it be a sin. 
When violence assails us.' 

" This circumstance reminds me of my professional debut 
in Charleston, some ten_, or twelve, or more years ago, 
when one of your Honors, whom I have in my eye,* was 
then and there, one of my judges. And although I was 
defeated, and hardly defeated, still, I retain a vivid recollec- 
tion of the dignified sympathy and sensibility of his Honor, 
Judge Waties, on that trying occasion. His Honor, Judge 
de Saussure also, then at the bar, at the instance of my friend 
Lightwood, alas ! since dead and gone to his account, had 
the goodness, with the kindest promptitude and alacrity, to 
make some introductory and very favorable observations on 
my subject. And I hope, their Honors will not be displeased 
at the liberty I take in presenting to their minds, this, to 
me, at least, pleasing image of agreeable reminiscence. I 
know where I am. I understand perfectly well the genius 
of this Court. Nothing burns here, but the lamp of legal 
science. Lighting, then, my slender taper at this glorious 
fountain of illumination, and holding it in my hand, I pro- 
pound for the consideration of the Court the following 
questions, namely : — 

." First, whether a will or devise may be revoked or in- 
validated pro tanto, or in part only ? 

" Secondly, whether the one or the other may be re- 
voked or invalidated, in whole, or in part, by importunity or 
undue influence alone ? 

" Thirdly, if neither can be so revoked or invalidated by 
importunity, singly, whether, if with this strong circum- 
stance of improper influence, there be connected facts or 
transactions indicative of fraud, a will or devise may not be 
in whole, or in part, revoked or invalidated? 

" Fourthly, whether, for this purpose, parol evidence may 
be admitted to prove fraud, or undue influence ? 

" The fifth and last question which I shall propose, arises 
out of the construction of the Act of eighteen hundred and 
eight, — the institutional and organic Act of this Court. 
It is this : whether upon a fair, rational, and correct con- 



* Bowing to Judge Waties. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 493 

struction of that Statute^ the old, firmly established, long 
practised remedies by re-hearing or bill of review, should 
be considered and adjudged to be abolished, and the right 
or privilege of appeal to this Court substituted in loco, or in 
place of those remedies ? 

" Numerous other questions, out of this case, might no 
doubt be raised and suggested by subtle and learned inge- 
nuity, — for what subject may not be infinitely ramified ? — 
but these, and particularly the last, as being a preclusive 
question, if decided against the remedies by re-hearing or 
bill of review, appear to me to be the principal or most 
important/' 

After treating, these questions at great length, in which 
not only many legal authorities, but other authors, as Shak- 
speare, are learnedly discussed — he goes on to notice in 
much detail, and expose the many errors connected with 
the previous proceedings both at law and in equity, and 
concludes in the following strain : — 

" May it please yo^^r Honors, — Shall I be permitted to 
subjoin a few words more, on my OAvn little subject ? Yes. 
Ipse de me scribam. Inheriting a very delicate constitution, 
suffering almost perpetual ill-health, possessing a disposition, 
not of the most Soeratic kind, and a temper not formed of 
the sternest stuff, — subjected before twelve years of age to 
that orphanage which springs from the grave, — cast out, at 
this late day, from the moorings of the hearth, and dis- 
missed from the ' mild majesty of private life,' — is it a 
matter of the smallest wonder that I should have run into 
some eccentricities ; that I should have indulged in some 
little aberrations from the strict line of perfect rectitude ; 
that I should have yielded for a moment to those amiable 
frailties, those ' sweet follies, which should be known to 
friends alone, and men of generous minds ?' Have not 
some of the finest and fairest characters in history, been 
guilty of still stranger deviations from the rigid rules of 
morality ?'' 

{Collateral Remarks.) — " May it please your Honors, in 
making this observation I did not intend, merely to appeal 
to the general reading and opulent memory of the Court. 
But, passing by the case of Caesar, who wept before the 



494 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

statue of Alexander, because, at his age, Lc had performed 
110 action m orthy the pen of the historian ; and descending 
a long tract of time, I cannot refrain fi'om citiug, as a most 
signal instance, the character and conduct of Charles James 
Fox. W'ith him, as with most other elevated souls, pru- 
dence was not the favorite virtue. Nor is this to be wondered 
at ; for genius, generally built on strong passions, is the most 
sublime and eftervescent principle in nature. 

" That great and amiable man, after having lost and won, 
and lost again, his immense patrimonial estate, — after having 
been abandoned by all his friends as a \dctim to his vices, — 
possessed so much sensibility, so much fortitude, so much 
intelligence, such a just and manly confidence in his many 
virtues, in his fascinating manners and his gigantic talent, — 
that, recalling his rooollection, and shaking himself into 
returning energy, — like another phoenix, he arose out of his 
own ashes, and presided over the destinies of a great empire. 
Acliillcs was vulnerable in the heel. Nations are subject 
to strange and frightful ebullitions. Nature herself is 
irregular. A superior influence, irresistibly, and at will, 
guides and controls the destinies of the physical and moral 
world. The lofty stem of the pine yields like a sapling to 
the force of the tempest. The robust poplar, Avith his 
Aagorous roots, also bows before the overruling energies of 
nature. So, even so, it is with man. The great Napoleon 
himself, — that unrivalled master of the si;blinie science of Avar, 
that moral volcano, which has thrown out such bitter substance, 
— submits, with profound and dignified humility to a ruthless 
climate, — fairly and greatly acknowledges, in the face of 
Europe, and of the world, the imperious poAver of inveterate 
circumstances. At a still later period, on the final catas- 
trophe of the grand tragi- comic drama of France, and of 
Europe, this distinguished personage, this modern Ca^sai', 
exhibited no less stiikingly and gloriously for himself, the 
fortitude, combined with the sensibility of a man, and of a 
hero. But to return — As for myself, may it please your 
Honors, in the peaceful, noiseless tenor of my way, I ha\'e 
been for years rolling the stone of Sisy[)hus. Once did I 
flatter myself, that I had securely planted it on the summit 
of the mountain, and assumed a commanding attitude. 13ut, 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 495 

fortiiue frowned, the political horizon thickened and blackened, 
this disastrous case, like the ghost of Brutus, stalked Ijcforc 
me, — these successive causes, eventually combining and co- 
operating, with united and irresistible energy seized me by 
the top, and again hiirlcd me to the bottom. In this humble 
and prostrate posture, whilst I feelingly own with Cardinal 
Wolsey, — making all due allowance for comparative elevation 
and depression, — ' the blessedness of being little/ — let me, at 
the same time, surpass in religious resignation that ambitious 
prelate, and submit to the revengeful reverses of fortune, 
with manly dignity and philosophic fortitude. The master 
orator of the French Revolution, no less forcibly than 
beautifully observes that, ' reputation is the flame upon the 
5iltar ; cease to feed it, and it expires/ Sincerely penetrated 
and deeply impressed with this great truth, — it is my firm and 
fixed resolution to weave up all my follies, and in future, to 
hold, if possible, my ' course unfaltering, up the steep ascent 
of virtue/ and manfully and steadily to direct all the energies 
of my mind and body, to the enviable acquisition of a ' local 
habitation and a name/ 

" With this view, and for the accomplishment of this high 
purpose, I should have selected, had health permitted, this 
city, on account of its many great and singular advantages, 
as the place of my permanent residence, and the theatre of 
my future exertions. The College Library, of itself, would 
have been a great consideration and inducement. That 
superb and spacious accommodation of science, which reflects 
so much honor on the wisdom and liberality of the State, 
is destined, in a few years, to produce a wonderful revolution 
in the state of society and of literature in our infant 
Republic. No longer will the eye of liberal curiosity and 
anxious inquiry be directed to a particular city, or a particular 
section of the State, in search of men of genius and of 
learning. They will be found here; they will be found 
everywhere; they will be found seated at the foot, and under 
the black and frowning brow of bald and sterile mountains, — 
contemplating the sublime beauties of nature, and causing 
her to startle at the vast penetration of man, which can lay 
open and reveal her own mighty and occult secrets, and even 
probe her to the quick. 



496 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

" May it please your Honors : after this exertion^ may I, 
dare I, lay hold of a small corner of the skirt or robe of 
fame, and holding that in my hand, and following the high 
example, and supporting myself by the great name and 
authority of Montesquieu, assume and repeat, with him, and 
after him, the lofty scutimeut of Corrcggio, — ' And I also am 
a painter V 

" INIay it please your Honors : I elose in the style — 
excuse the association — of Sheridan, and of our Saviour : ' I 
have done ' — ^ It is finished/ '^* 

To this speech Major ^landing replied, and Mr. Hooker 
concluded the pleadings for the appellants. 

On the last day of the term, the opinion of the Court, 
adverse to INIr. Lide, >vas pronounced by Chancellor de 
Saussure — precluding all further appeal to that tribunal. 
This was in December, ISIA. As a last alternative, Mr. 
Lide presented a memorial to the Legislature during the 
session of 1816 — setting forth briefly the history of the 
cause from its beginning — urging the errors into which the 
Courts had fallen, ami the example of a celebrated ease in 
England, in which, the parties having failed in the Covirts, 
Parliament granted relief. Referring to this precedent^; he 
says in conclusion : " That Avas nobly done. Now, I ask, 
will a republic be less generous than a monarchy ? Surely 
not. Your memorialist, therefore, in honest confidence, 
respectfully prays this honorable body, to refund to him out 
of the treasury of the State, in imitation of the British 
example, the amount of which your memorialist has been 
thus wrongfully deprived by a Court of ulterior decision, — 
or to grant him such other relief as to your wisdom shall 
seem meet. 

" And your memorialist further suggests, that before such 
a state of things should any longer be suffered to exist, 



* " The concliuliiigr scntoiicos," Mr. Liilc adds in a note, " from their brevity, 
and from a niitural wish to ddse with dignity, were pronouni'od recitatively ; 
but 1 WHS not a little mortified on being informed th:it that tone of voice, 
between common speech and song, should have been mistaken by the audience, 
respectable and enlightened as it was, for actual singing. Considering the 
greatness and solemnity of the occasions on which these expressions were used, 
and also their conciseness, I am, myself, convinced that 1 acted with taste and 
judgment." 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 497 

your memorialist, for one, would rejoice to see the proud 
temples of legal science topple on their warders^ heads, 
thorns and thistles grow and flourish on their consecrated 
foundations, and the mournful turtle-dove utter her melan- 
choly note, where the goddess of justice should have sat 
enthroned." 

The memorial was referred to a special joint committee 
of both Houses, of which the late Governor John Lide 
Wilson was one. Mr. Lide was requested to appear and 
plead his cause before the committee. He did so ; and 
came in a costume as singular,* as his appearance was wild 
and haggard. Every exertion of his genius and eloquence 
had hitherto failed. Breaking forth, as a final effort, with 
expiring splendor, his varied powers were all brought into 
commanding requisition. It was to be the triumph, or the 
failure of his life. The committee gave him a long and 
patient hearing, for the case had now become one of peculiar 
and mournful interest, — added to which, his character, his 
genius, his declining fortunes, and previous efforts in the 
cause, had given him a sad celebrity. With the progress of 
his s[)eeeh, the excitement, even with that select body of 
legislators, became painfully intense, and when he closed, in 
the words and recitative style of his last effort before the 
Court — " I have done — It is finished," — every member of 
the committ 3 was bathed in tears. f 

Though the personal interest he excited was deep and 
universal, relief was not granted ; and shortly after, the 
flickering taper, which had thus been kindled by the stimulus 
of the occasion into a flame of unearthly brightness, was 
extinguished in death ! 

It was equally a misfortune for himself and the State, 
that adverse circumstances at an early period should have 
given a morbid direction to Mr. Lide's character and subse- 
quent course. Continued disappointment only served to 
increase this disposition and, as a fatal canker, it ate out his 



* He appeared in a blanket, as his outer garb, with hair dishevelled, sunken, 
piercing tyes, find huge folios of the law in strong array. 

•f Governor Wilson described it to the Author, with evident emotion even 
then, though nearly forty years had passed away, as a scene surpassing the 
power of language to pourtray. 

K K 



498 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

life. It led to an irregularity of habit and unsteadiness of 
purpose, whicli precluded the possibility of success. 

He was not more fond of the law as a study, than devoted 
to literary pursuits. His speeches throughout abound with 
allusions indicative of a richly stored mind. Shakspeare, 
of all others, was his text-book, and in the depths of that 
universal genius, few, perhaps, have ever been more pro- 
foundly versed. His familiarity with, and command on all 
occasions of this great author, are said by those who remem- 
ber him, to have been extraordinary. 

The late Hugh S. Legare, of Charleston, the Cicero of 
Carolina, who heard him on one of the memorable occasions 
connected with the case to which attention has been given, 
is reported to have said, that Mr. Lide Avas the greatest 
genius he had ever seen ! A similar remark was also made 
by the celebrated Dr. Maxcy. In his death Pedee mourned 
her most erratic, but one of her most gifted sons. His 
mantle, rare and peculiar as it was, has ^llen upon no other 
since. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 499 



CHAPTER XX. 

Samuel Wilds — His early life — Filial devotion — Admission to the Bar — Un- 
bounded popularity — His election to the Legislature — Made Solicitor — Pro- 
motion to the Bench — Impression made upon the people — Charge to the 
Grand Jury of Abbeville District — Peeling expressed by the Grand Jury — 
Sentence on Slater — Sentence on John Tollison — His last Court in Charleston 
— His death — Its effect on the public mind— Proceedings of Bar of Charles- 
ton — Proceedings at Sumpter — Obituary notices — Lines suggested by his 
death. 

Mention has been made of a few of the more distin- 
guished of those who had been among the early pupils of the 
academy of St. David^s. There was another^ the brightest 
of the rising stars in her firmament when the sun of the 
last century went down on the Pedee. 

Samuel Wilds is a name, in the language of the late 
venerable Chief Justice of South Carolina, " which chal- 
lenges respect even after he has rested in the silence of the 
grave for nearly fifty years.^^ He was the second son of 
John Wilds, and born March 4th, 1775, in that part of 
Cheraw District which subsequently became Marlborough 
County.* His father died early, leaving a large family, 
whose support devolved chiefly on Samuel, who was then 
a youth. 

In mind and character his mother was no common 
woman, and from her, doubtless, the superior traits of the 
son were inherited. Her virtues inspired respect in all 
who knew her, and commanded, on the part of her noble 
son, the most affectionate and touching veneration. She is 
said by one who knew her, to have been " a distinguished 
lady for her day.'''' His brother, John, was a young man 
of remarkable promise, but died just as he had prepared 
himself, as a physician, for entering on the work of life. 



* Judge O'Neall is mistaken in suppot^ing Darlington the place of bis 
nativity. 

K K 2 



500 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

To his education and advancement^ the subject of this 
notice had devoted himself with unsparing solicitude. 

The early life of Samuel Wilds was a period of sore and 
continuous struggle against seemingly adverse fortune. 
The fruits of his youthful labors were mainly devoted to 
the support and comfort of his mother and her helpless 
family. But a portion of his time and slender means, as a 
consequence, could be devoted to his own improvement. 
He acted, when quite young for such a position, as local 
deputy sheriflF of the district, was also assistant for a time 
under Thomas Park, in the academy of St. David^s, and 
afterwards became the Principal. This school was his 
only alma mater. The filial devotion which he exhibited 
with unwavering constancy, through years of trying priva- 
tion, w^as the most beautiful trait in the character of young 
Wilds, and continued to be its brightest ornament, after 
he had reached his maturity and was crowned with the 
lustre of august position and distinguished fame. It was a 
solid basis for greatness, other elements of strength being 
added, and a model for the young of every generation. It 
was not until his twenty-third year, every difficulty having 
been surmounted, that the first summit in his nobly aspiring 
career was reached, in his admission to the Bar, of which he 
was soon to become the ornament and pride. During the 
same year, he became a candidate for popular favor, but 
being yet comparatively unknown, and with strong influences 
opposing him, lost his election to the House of Bepresenta- 
tives by a small minority. About this time he married 
Elizabeth, daughter of Captain Wm. Dewitt, who contri- 
buted largely to his happiness, and survived him many 
years.'^ One of his first speeches was made at the Bar of 
Sumpter, in a case for which he had been retained by Daniel 
Du Bose. His success was complete. It was in the early 
stage of the court; and such was the effect of his eloquence, 
that many clients came to him at once and secured his 
services, giving him a good practice at the start, and an 



* This excellent lady subsequently married Dr. Tliomas Smith, of Society 
Hill ; a pattern of the wife, mother, friend, and Christian. Dr. Smith yet 
remains, after a long life of usefulness and honor, one of the very few left of 
that generation. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 501 

establislied reputation as a laAvycr throughout the circuit. 
It was an almost unexampled instance of the kind. His 
popularity, the spontaneous tribute paid to his exalted worth, 
was now so great, that in the election of 1802, as already 
stated, he was triumphantly elected to the Legislature. 

In December of that year, he was made solicitor of the 
Northern and Eastern Circuit. This position gave him a 
wider field for the display of his peculiar powers, and 
brought him more generally into notice. The result was, 
that two years after, he was elected judge, and took his seat 
on the bench before the completion of his thirtieth year. 
He had then been but six years at the Bar, to which he 
was admitted with slender opportunities for preparation. 
Yet, so rapidly had he mastered that system and those 
principles which he was now to administer and elucidate, 
that the ermine sat as easily and gracefully upon him as if 
he had passed through the most thorough course of study 
and a practice of many years. A deep impression was 
made upon the people of the State wherever he travelled 
his circuits for the first. To a commanding and handsome 
person were added a dignity and simplicity, with a winning 
ease and grace of manner,* which inspired profound respect 
and captivated every heart. 

His charges were learned and instructive, and his sen- 
tences pathetic and eloquent. Of the former, one specimen 
is fortunately yet extant. It appeared in the Charleston 
Courier, of May 5, 1807, with some prefatory remarks by 
the Editors, showing the iuipression made upon the public 
mind at the time. 



* It is related of him, that while holding his first Court in Charleston, a 
large ball was given, to which, with other dignitaries. Judge Wilds was invited. 

He was not provided with the usual dress for such an occasion, and pleaded 
that as an excuse for not attending. His friends, however, furnislied from their 
own wardrobes what was wanting, and no alternative was left but to make his 
debut. Chancellor De Saussure, himself a model of elegance, felt some ap- 
prehension how his brother, for whom he had a high regard, and raw, as he 
thought, from the country, would sustain himself, and with another friend, kept 
near him for a while as a support. He was introduced to a lady, who complained 
that the lights were not burning brightly. He instantly replied, in his happiest 
manner, " that with such brightness as he saw beaming Irom the beautiful eyes 
around him, the light could not grow dim ;" upon whicl), the Chancellor re- 
marked to his companion, " That is enough ; Wilds can take care of himself, 
and we may go about our business." 



502 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

The estimate placed upon it by the grand jury, to whom 
it was addressed^ is sufficiently indicated by the language 
of the presentment and the request appended to the charge. 

" We call the attention of our readers to the very excel- 
lent charge of Judge Wilds^ which occupies so large a part 
of this day^s paper. The good sense, sound policy, and 
genuine patriotism which it contains, render it deserving of 
the most attentive and serious perusal. 

" We sincerely hope that his liberal sentiments may be 
productive of all the good they are so well calculated to 
produce. 

" Charge delivered by Judge Wilds to the Grand Jmy of 
Abbeville District, on Monday, 16th of March last, and pub- 
lished at their request. 

" ' Gentlemen of the Grand Jury : 

" ' You have so often, I apprehend, had your duties 
as grand jurors explained to you, and the regular organiza- 
tion of our courts has given such frequent occasions to the 
exercise of these duties, that perhaps it may be unnecessary 
for me, at this time, to address you on that subject ; however, 
as I consider them of great importance, both to the commu- 
nity and to yourselves, and believe it impossible that their 
nature and extent can be made too familiar to your minds, 
I claim the indulgence of a few observations. 

" ' The great outlines of your duty are strongly marked in 
the solemn and impressive oath which has been just admi- 
nistered to you. " You shall diligently inquire and true 
presentment make of all such matters and things as shall 
be given you in charge. You shall present no one from 
envy, hatred, malice, or ill-will ; neither shall you leave 
any one, unpresented, from fear, favor, affection, or hope of 
reward.'^ 

" ' As the Grand Inquest of your District you are charged 
with the inquiry, whether the laws have been faithfully 
observed and executed ; and this delicate trust you are 
sworn impartially to discharge. Upon your accusation alone 
will the Court entertain even the suspicion of guilt against 
the most obscure individual : and, on the other hand, when 
once you have preferred such accusation, neither the most 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 503 

dignified station, nor the most exalted endowments, can 
screen the person accused from the necessity of publicly 
vindicating his innocence, or of submitting to the penalties 
prepared for guilt. Under this stern despotism of the law 
are completely levelled all those artificial distinctions which 
the refinements of civil society are continually imposing on 
mankind. 

" * It is, after all, gentlemen, in the temple of justice alone 
that the high and the low, the rich and the poor, are 
brought to feel their original equality. Well has the 
patriot and philanthropist regarded the trial by jury as one 
of the strongest evidences of national freedom ; for so long 
as the benefits of this mode of decision are within reach, 
neither the bold attacks nor the secret approaches of lawless 
power can long opj)ress with impunity. In proportion, 
then, to the importance of your present functions, should 
be your exertions for their faithful discharge. Whilst, on 
the one hand, no artifice should secure the guilty from 
your animadversion, your cautious scrutiny, on the other, 
should form a rampart of security around the innocent. 

" ' It is no apology for an over-hasty and groundless accu- 
sation preferred by a grand jury, that the person accused, 
before he can be made liable to the penalty of the law, 
must be again found guilty by another jury after a more 
strict and solemn inquiry j for besides the expense and 
vexation which it may occasion to procure a discharge, an 
acquittal by the petit jury will not entirely wipe away 
the reproach of having been esteemed guilty by a grand 
jury, equal at least in number and equally bound to do 
impartial justice. You all know and feel the value of 
character, and I can recommend no better rule by which 
you should discharge your present duties than that which 
should influence the discharge of every other duty, namely, 
" do unto others as you would have them do unto you." . 

" ' Besides the examination of such bills as shall be laid 
before you by the attorney on behalf of the State, there are 
a variety of other matters subject to your cognizance and 
animadversion ; and though this power, in its first exercise, 
be merely censorial, not of itself subjecting those against 
whom it is directed to legal punishment, I will venture to 



504 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEEAWS. 

promise^ should your investigations present to view offences 
requiring corrections more forcible than censure, such cor- 
rections will not be withheld. 

" 'Everything relating to the internal policy of your district 
is properly a subject of your inquiry; such, for instance, 
are your public roads, highways, and bridges. The great 
importance of good roads to every country none will deny. 
But, to a country situated like yours, remote from every 
advantage of water carriage, good roads are all-important. 
The widely-spreading progress of population and agricul- 
tural improvement in your district, well adapted by nature 
to the cultivation of our staple commodity, renders inex- 
cusable the present state of your public roads. Perhaps 
there is no circumstance which so strongly marks the pro- 
gress of a country in civilization as attention to their public 
highways. We find amongst the first objects which have 
attracted the attention of nations but just emerging from 
barbarism, some rude attempt to facilitate their intercourse 
by roads ; and it is one, among the first instances, in which 
the solitary, selfish indej)eudence of the individual is brought 
to yield something for the public good. But, were this the 
only test by which to ascertain the advancement of a 
country in civilization, I should greatly flatter you, gentle- 
men, did I not tell you your progress was small indeed. 

" ' If you should think as I do, that those to wdiom the 
laws have confided this branch of police, have shamefully 
neglected their duty, it becomes yours to say so ; and upon 
your presentment, the Court will direct such measures as 
will, in all probability, occasion more attention to this sub- 
ject in future. Such, also, are the laws relative to the 
performance of patrol duty, and the government of slaves. 
These laws are strict, and policy requires they should be 
strictly observed ; and it will be a departure from duty in 
you to suff^er any known violation of them to pass unno- 
ticed ; and such are all offences against the laws, either of 
omission or commission, either in any of your public func- 
tionaries, or in private individuals, which may come to 
your knowledge, and which have not otherwise been brought 
to the view of the Court. Another branch of jurisdiction 
which I hold to be legitimately yours, is the office of Censors, 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 505 

exercised by grand juries^ over the private vices and im- 
moralities of individuals. It is my duty^ however, to inform 
you, that this power, as incidental to your body, is ques- 
tioned by many, and denied to you by some. Under 
institutions like ours, resting entirely upon public opinion, 
wdiere so much depends upon public virtue, I consider its 
existence somewhere of first necessity. The spiritual cen- 
sures to which, in other countries, many of these offences 
are consigned, in a country like ours, where every person 
worships his Maker as he pleases, or impiously refuses to 
worship him at all, w ould indeed be feeble ; and I am 
aware of no rule, legal, political, or moral, Avhich denies to 
you the right to express, either as a body or individuals, 
either privately or publicly, to individuals, to the Court, to 
the Legislature, or to the world, your abhorrence of Adce 
and its perpetrators. There are a great variety of duties 
which society imposes on us, upon the performance of which 
its welfare very much depends; and as many vices, de- 
structive of its interests, which should be prevented, that 
acknowledge not the coercion of municipal law. The im- 
possibility of reaching the evil by legal remedy has left the 
performance of these duties, and the prevention of these 
vices, entii'cly dependent upon moral rule. That drunken- 
ness, lying, duplicity, ingratitude, lewdness, and debauchery, 
amongst a variety of other offences of the same descrip- 
tion, are evils seriously injurious to society, none will deny ; 
and that any adequate punishment is provided for them 
by the laws, none will pretend. They can only be pre- 
vented, then, by their strong repugnance to the moral sense 
of the community, and by the reprobation of the influential 
and virtuous. The dread of being dragged into public 
view by the penetrating scrutiny of an impartial grand 
jmy, and of having their vices exposed to the animadver- 
sion of the world, will prevent many from offending. Should 
you feel it your duty to exercise this power, you will at 
once see the importance of proceeding with great delicacy 
and caution. Grand Juries frequently exercise the privilege 
of expressing, as a body, their opinions on matters of public 
concern ; and Legislatures, as far as I have observed, 
uniformly treat such opinions with respect. As from the 



506 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS, 

manner of their organization^ grand juries have every 
opportunity of expressing the public sense of their respec- 
tive districts, it would, indeed, be a very great want of 
wisdom in Legislatures to preclude themselves from such 
correct sources of information. 

" ' Should you be of oj)inion that any particular vices stalk 
with impunity through the land for want of legal power to 
punish them — should you be of opinion that any of your 
rights, either public or private, are not sufficiently acknow- 
ledged and protected by the laws of your country, you have 
the privilege to tell the Legislature so. 

" ' In making you acquainted with your privilege in this 
respect, I have done my duty ; to attempt to direct the 
exercise of this privilege, would be a departure from it. 
Should you conclude to address the Legislature, there is 
one subject, however, to which I will venture to invite your 
attention, particularly as it is not likely to awaken any of 
those discordant passions which so often convulse the social 
fabric, and render man the enemy of man, but will more 
likely soothe existing asperities, by producing one honorable 
instance at least, in which the enlightened and virtuous of 
every party do cordially unite. 

" ' The subject to which I allude is education ; and I sug- 
gest to you the propriety of recommending to the Legisla- 
ture the adoption of some general system by which the 
blessings of information may be widely disseminated through 
our country. This interesting subject has, for a considera- 
ble time past, deeply occupied the public mind ; and though, 
from the novelty of the thing, and the particular local cir- 
cumstances of our country, difficulties have arisen which 
have not been obviated, yet I am confident they must shortly 
yield to reflection, experience, and perseverance. The pros- 
perous situation of our finances invites to the present as an 
auspicious time for effecting some arrangement of this sort ; 
and the warm recommendation of grand juries will keep 
alive the generous propensity for some time entertained on 
the subject by the Legislature; and receive the support of 
every enlightened patriot and good man. The importance 
of knowledge, particularly in a government like ours, is felt 
by all ; for besides ameliorating the affections of the human 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 507 

lieart, and amplifying the range of social enjoyment, know- 
ledge is the only sure correction of the diseases to which 
our body politic is ever liable. The abuse of public confi- 
dence will be best prevented by enlightening the public 
mind. The great bulk of the people, in matters of public 
concern, always act from honest motives, and never do 
wrong but in the endeavour to do right. General informa- 
tion, by enabling them to discriminate the modest preten- 
sions of merit from the hollow professions of the designing 
demagogue, by discovering to them that, in political philo- 
sophy, there is a point in improvement at which abstract 
speculation should yield to practical experiment, would cer- 
tainly prevent many improprieties into which they are un- 
intentionally, but sometimes unavoidably led. 

" 'The important stations which the individuals of our 
community occupy, render it not only a matter of humanity, 
but of sound policy, to extend to those who lack the means 
of acquiring information, the public assistance. Born every 
man in a measure his own legislator, the public bounty 
surely could not be better employed than in qualifying each, 
as far as practicable, for the exercise of such dignified pri- 
vileges. 

" ' However the sports of fortune, or the tendency of civil 
institutions, have rendered unequal the conditions of men ; 
as to political rights all are equal. The arrogant preten- 
sions of rank and the haughty domination of hereditary folly 
are not acknowledged in our system of government. The 
highest offices are open to the claims of the most obscure 
individuals ; and you need not be told, gentlemen, that upon 
such individuals a generous public have sometimes bestowed 
their confidence, even in advance. There is, therefore, every 
inducement to direct the public patronage towards the edu- 
cation of our youth. Much, very much, it must be con- 
ceded, has already been done by the Legislature establish- 
ing, under their own immediate auspices, at the seat of 
Government, a seminary of the first respectability. From its 
central situation, its benefits are equally accessible to every 
part of the State ; and from its liberal support, an education 
may be finished here with equal advantage, in my opinion, 
and perhaps with less expense, all things considered, than at 



508 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

any institution of equal rauk on the Continent. Placed under 
tlie immediate direction of the principal officers of Govern- 
ment, with other trustees of equal responsibility, its success 
and their reputation are closely united. The sons of this 
institution enjoy the singular advantage of exhibiting to 
their countrymen^ annually assembled, from every part of 
the State, the earliest testimonies of their talents, and of 
having ascertained, before they step forward in the theatre 
of life, their probable success on it. 

" ' The child of but yesterday, nursed but a short time by 
the public affection, the South Carolina College, rises 
rapidly into eminence^ exhibiting a success which its ene- 
mies never feared, and its most sanguine friends scarce 
ever hoped. 

" ' The probable consequences resulting from this institu- 
tion, render its establishment, in my estimation, amongst 
the most important acts of our State Legislature. Here, a 
liberal education may be acquired, without contracting 
habits and sentiments not native to our clime, nor congenial 
to its interests. Here, the young men of our State are 
formed, as it were, into one large family, and the early 
friendships contracted will unite them through life as bro- 
thers, without regarding the places of each others^ residence; 
and the present jarring suspicions and supposed contrariety 
of interests between different parts of the State will be found 
to yield to offices of mutual kindness and more enlightened 
policy. Intellectual worth will no longer be ascertained by 
geographical boundaries, weakly conceived, and wickedly 
marked out ; nor political rights depend upon propinquity to 
the sea, the sand-hills, or the mountains. Few, I appre- 
hend, who possess the means, will neglect the present favor- 
able opportunity of educating their sons, and fitting them for 
future usefulness. 

" ' But, Tmfortunately, gentlemen, even in our own favored 
country, a very large portion of its citizens are not possessed 
of these means ; poor and friendless, they aspire not to the 
procuring for their sons blessings never enjoyed by them- 
selves. And shall these numerous children of misfortune be 
entirely excluded from those dazzling meeds with which 
science rewards her votaries ? Shall our country be de- 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 509 

prived of the intellectual services of that class of our fellow- 
men on whom genius is most apt to lavish her favors ? 

" ' Policy and humanity forbid it. Those astonishing en- 
dowments of mind which exalt the human character are, 
perhaps, oftener found beneath the humble cottage than in 
the stately mansions of the great. A very large proportion 
of those sages and heroes who have adorned the ages in 
which they lived, were educated in the schools of adversity. 
A benevolent Providence is, by this means, continually 
levelling down those haughty arrangements which the pride 
of families, and vanity natural to man, are ever willing to 
raise up. 

" ' You are called together, gentlemen, for the purpose of 
punishing vice and protecting virtue. You are intended to be 
a terror to those who do evil — a praise to those who do well. 
It cannot, I hope, be necessary to remind you to act worthily 
of the character you have assumed ; and that it would be un- 
pardonable in you to neglect those virtues which you have 
promised to promote, or to practise those vices which you 
have sworn to punish.' " 

The Grand Jury, having made presentments on education, 
roads, &c., as suggested by his Honor, concluded with these 
words : — " We beg leave to return our thanks to his Honor, 
Judge Wilds, for his deliberate and punctual attention to 
the business of this Court, so far as it has progressed. 

'' We sincerely reciprocate his sentiments, delivered at its 
commencement, so strongly expressive of his wish for the 
promotion of the harmony and happiness of our common 
country. We hope we may be permitted to request a copy 
of his charge to our body ; and recommend that it, together 
with the foregoing presentments, may be published in some 
public newspaper in this State. 

" John Arnold, Foreman. 

" Abbeville, March Term, 1807." 

The utterance of such sentiments, so well expressed, as 
were those of this charge, was well calculated to touch the 
popular heart, and lead the public mind aright. When it is 
remembered how limited his own opportunities of education 
had been, the few years of study which had followed his 



510 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

admission to the Bar, and tlie yet comparatively early age 
of Judge "Wilds, this production, both as to excellence of 
matter, and correctness and dignity of style, is worthy of all 
praise. 

The famous sentence* passed upon Slater for the murder 
of his own slave, gave to the name of Judge Wilds a world- 
wide celebrity. It made a deep impression, not only in this 
country, but in England. It appeared soon after its delivery, 
or portions of it, in the books of oratory of the day ; and as 
Judge O^Neall justly remarks, " is a beautiful and eloquent 
specimen of his powers." It was in these words : — 

" John Slater ! 

You have been convicted by a jury of your 
country for the wilful murder of your own slave ; and I am 
sorry to say, the short, impressive, uncontradicted testimony, 
on which that conviction was founded, leaves but too little 
room to doubt its propriety. 

" The annals of human depravity might be safely chal- 
lenged for a parallel to this unfeeling, bloody, and diabolical 
transaction. 

" You caused your unoffending, unresisting slave, to 
be bound hand and. foot, and by a refinement in cruelty, 
compelled his companion, perhaps the friend of his heart, 
to chop his head with an axe, and to cast his body, yet 
convulsing with the agonies of death, into the water ! And 
this deed you dared to perpetrate in the very harbor of 
Charleston, within a few yards of the shore, unblushingly, 
in the face of open day. Had your murderous arm been 
raised against your equal, whom the laws of self-defence and 
the more efficacious laws of the land unite to protect, your 
crime would not have been without precedent and would 
have seemed less horrid. Your personal risk would at least 
have proved, that though a murderer you were not a coward. 
But you too well knew that this unfortunate man, whom 



* It is not a little singular that this production is not to be found in the 
newspapers of Charleston of the time. The Author, at least, after a diligent 
search, failed to find it, or any allusion to it, in the files of newspapers in the 
Charleston Library. It was found by Judge O'Neall in the " Key to Uncla 
Tom's Cabin," after a vain search elsewhere. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 511 

chance had subjected to your caprices, had not, like your- 
self, chartered to him by the laws of the land the same 
rights of natui'e ; and that a stern but necessary policy had 
disarmed him of the rights of self-defence. Too well you 
knew that to you alone he could look for protection, and 
that your arm alone could shield him from oppression or 
avenge his wrongs ; yet that arm you cruelly stretched out 
for his destruction. 

" The counsel who generously volunteered his services in 
your behalf, shocked at the enormity of your offence, 
endeavored to find a refuge, as well for his own feelings as 
for those of all who heard your trial, in a derangement of 
your intellect. Several witnesses were examined to establish 
this fact ; but the result of their testimony, it is apprehended, 
was as little satisfactory to his mind as to those of the jury 
to whom it was addressed. I sincerely wish this defence 
had proved successful ; not from any desire to save you from 
the punishment which awaits you, and which you so richly 
merit, but from the desire of saving my country from the 
foul reproach of having, in its bosom, so great a monster. 

'^ From the peculiar situation of this country, our fathers 
felt themselves justified in subjecting to a very slight punish- 
ment him who murders a slave. Whether the present state 
of society requires a continuation of this policy, so opposite 
to the apparent rights of humanity, it remains for a subse- 
quent Legislature to decide. Their attention ere this would 
have been directed to this subject, but, for the honor of 
human nature, such hardened sinners as yourself are rarely 
found to disturb the repose of society. The grand jury of 
this county, deeply impressed with your daring outrages 
against the laws of both God and man, have made a very 
strong expression of their feelings on the subject to the 
Legislature, and from the wisdom and justice of that body, 
the friends of humanity may confidently hope to see this 
blackest in the catalogue of human crimes pursued by appro- 
priate punishment.* 



• Judge O'Neall adds the following note (see his " Bench and Bar of S. C," 
vol. i. p. lO-i) : — "The punishment under the Act of 1740, § 38, under which 
Slater was convicted and sentenced, was a fine of £700, currency — equal to £100 
sterling — which, at 4*. M. to the dollar, is |428, 57-100 — and incapacity to 



512 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

" In proceeding to pass the sentence which the law pro- 
vides for your offence, I confess I never felt more forcibly 
the want of power to make respected the laws of my country, 
whose minister I am. 

^' You have already violated the majesty of those laws. 
You have properly pleaded the local law, under which you 
stand convicted, as a justification of your crime. You have 
held that law in one hand and brandished your axe in the 
other, impiously contending that the one gave a licence to 
the unrestrained use of the other. 

" But though you will go off unhurt in person, by the 
present sentence, expect not to escape with impunity. Your 
bloody deed has set a mark upon you which I fear the good 
actions of your future life will not efface. You will be held 
in abhorrence by an impartial world, and shunned as a mon- 
ster by every honest man. Your unoffending posterity will 
be visited for your iniquity, by the stigma of deriving their 
origin from an unfeeling murderer. Your days, which will 
be but few, will be spent in wretchedness, and if your con- 
science be not steeled against every virtuous emotion — if you 
be not entirely abandoned to hardness of heart — the mangled, 
mutilated corpse of your murdered slave will ever be present 
in your imagination, obtrude itself into all your amusements, 
and haunt you in the hours of silence and repose. 

" But, should you disregard the reproaches of an offended 
world — should you hear with callous insensibility the guaw- 
ings of a guilty conscience — yet remember that an awful 
period is fast approaching, and with you it is close at hand, 
when you must appear before a tribunal whose want of 



enjoy or receive the profits of any ofBce, place, or employment, civil or military, 
and if unable to pay this fine, then imprisonment for seven years. The Act of 
1821 charged this trifling punishment for what Judge Wilds justly called ' the 
hlaclcest in the catalogue of human crimes,' to death." His eloquent tongue had 
been silent in death nearly eleven years, when the " wisdom and justice " of the 
Legislature yielded to the " hopes " of the " friends of humanity." " At my 
instance," continues the judge, " my friend Daniel Horlbeck, Esq., caused the 
records to be examined, to ascertain when the above sentence was pronounced, 
and strange to say, nothing can be found. There is no Sessions docket or journal, 
until 1833, now extant. No indictment against Slater can be found. I presume 
the sentence was pronounced in 1807." This is confirmatory of the fact stated 
in the preceding note, that the sentence was not published in the city papers of 
the time. ., 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 513 

power can afford yoii no prospect of impunity — when you 
must raise your bloody hands at the bar of an impartial, 
omniscient Judge. 

" Remember, I pray you remember, whilst you yet have 
time, that God is just, and that His vengeance will not 
sleep for ever/' 

An occasion like this called forth the peculiar powers of 
Judge Wilds, touching, as it did, the tenderest sensibilities 
and stirring up the emotional depths of his nature. The 
sympathies of the man were not swallowed up in the stern 
sense of duty in the upright judge. It was here that he 
appeared good as he was great. 

Another production, and the last of those emanating from 
him which has been preserved, though it seems not to have 
attained such celebrity, deservedly takes rank with the sen- 
tence passed on Slater. It was published in the South 
Carolina Gazette, of Wednesday, May 3rd, 1809, with the 
following remarks prefixed, viz. : — 

" Eloquent and Impressive. 

" At the Court of General Sessions of the Peace, holden 
at Union Court House, in INIarch Term last, before the 
Honorable Judge Wilds, John ToUison was tried and found 
guilty of the wilful murder of John Mathis ; and when the 
unhappy criminal was brought to the bar, to receive the 
sentence of the law, the following eloquent and impressive 
address was delivered by the judge. The serious impression 
it made on all who were present, — the faithful, correct, and 
forcible view it exhibits of the awful and terrific situation of 
the wretch, who, abandoned to the feelings of humanity, 
imbues his hand in the blood of his fellow-creature — induced 
the members of the Bar attending that Court, earnestly to 
request the honorable judge to commit it to wanting, and 
favor them wdth a copy ; which request he politely complied 
with, and by those members of the Bar it is now ofi'ered to 
the public : — 

" John Tollison : 

" The duty which yet remains to be performed 
towards you, of all others to me the most awful and distress- 

L L 



5J4 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

iug^ it is my misfortune to be obliged to perform alone. The 
laws of our common country have commissioned me to 
announce to you your doom : I hold your death-warrant in 
my hand. Death^ the great destroyer of man, is terrible 
even in its mildest forms ; though we behold its destructive 
ravages spread wide around us — though we behold the 
rich, the poor, the old, the young, the virtuous, the vicious, 
fall indiscriminately before its deadly scythe, and feel our 
own fate inevitable, — still we cannot contemplate its frightful 
approaches, but with the most fearful apprehensions. The 
awful uncertainties of a future state, the untried vicissitudes 
of an unknown world, whence noue who have gone, have 
ever returned, appal the strongest hearts ; and like cowards, 
we groan under the pressure of lifers many ills, fearful to 
draw aside the veil which hides the future from us. But, 
though death be always dreadful, it is not always equally so. 
To yield our lives to Him who gave them ; to wait the dread 
moment on our beds of sickness, surrounded by those we 
love, whose affectionate concern, whose sympathizing tears, 
soften the anguish of expiring nature — to die for our native 
land, to guard its honor on the field of danger, and meet the 
grim tyrant at the cannon's mouth, though not enough to 
make him welcome, robs him of half his terrors. But, 
unfortunately for you, these are consolations which will not 
support you in your approaching doom. The life which God 
hath given you, you have yourself most wickedly destroyed — 
the tender love, the sympathetic tear which would have 
cleaved to your departing spirit, and winged it for its flight, 
you have banished by your public disgrace, to pine in hope- 
less solitude over your untimely fate ; and to the offended 
justice of that country, for whose honor to have died would 
have been heroic, you fall a victim. Hung up between the 
heavens and the earth, — heaven's oldest, greatest curse 
stamped on the deed you have done ; no friendly voice to bid 
a long farewell; no friendly hand to close your eyes in 
death ; you will exhibit an awful, but instructive spectacle 
to the world, and prove that the arm of avenging justice is 
swift to overtake him who sheds a brother's blood. 

" I need not remind you, for you cannot have forgotten the 
circumstances which led to this fatal catastrophe. Your hands 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 615 

yet smoke with the blood of murder^ and Mathis^s uew-made 
grave makes an impressive appeal to your memory. . Think 
not to find a palliation for your oflence in the intoxication 
under which it is said you labored ; nor hope to extenuate 
its horrors^ in the irritation of passion which you endeavored 
to establish. Your drunkenness but aggravates your crime ] 
the diabolical fury which drove you on to perpetrate this 
fatal deed, seems not to have had any exciting cause ; and the 
insidious, cowardly manner in which you made the attack, 
the deadly weapon which you wielded, and your unmanly 
perseverance in inflicting the deepest injuries on an adversary, 
who had not made the slightest resistance, nay, who was 
even unable to raise his hand against you, argue a most 
savage temperament of soul — a heart black with malevolence, 
and more than ordinarily depraved. You have had a fair 
and impartial trial by juries of your own choice, in the 
selection of whom, even your caprice has been tenderly 
indulged : you have had the benefit of able counsel, whose 
manly address to the understanding, whose eloquent appeals 
to the heart, must have saved you, if even a doubt of your 
guilt could have been excited ; but alas ! it has all been in 
vain; you have been pronounced guilty of the horrid crime 
of murder, for which you die unpitied. 

" It will be hardly generous to remind you, for it can now 
only aggravate your distress, of the many strong inducements 
which you had to a different conduct. Living in a land of 
light and liberty,where every right is securely protected, every 
virtuous exertion liberally rewarded, — in the vigor of health 
and prime of manhood, and surrounded by all the means of 
honest enjoyment, life was surely worth preserving. You 
have, but my heart sickens at the thought, a wife, who tenderly 
loves you — you are a father of children, who look to you for 
bread ; for them at least you ought to have lived. Cruel, 
thoughtless man, what have you done ? Besides robbing these 
objects, justly dear to your heart, of their only protection and 
support ; besides turning them on a wide and friendless world, 
exposed to all the buffetings of scoff and adversity, you have 
unkindly loaded them with disgrace, which, though they do 
not merit, they must for ever feel. 

" But, if the laws of your country, and your coimtry's 

L L 2 



516 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

God ; if the love of life, aBd its va7"ied enjoyments ; if the 
distress and disgrace of a family you love^ were unable to 
withhold your murderous arm ; yet, believe me, when I 
assure you, a reason yet more powerful than all, ought to 
have made you pause ! You have an immortal soul at 
stake, and have,, by this fatal deed, to the manifold trans- 
gressions of an ill-spent life^ added a mountain of guilt. 

" Your days on earth are now numbered. The sword of 
death, which hangs uplifted over the frail thread of your 
existence, ready to drop, will quickly cut it in twain, and 
those who have known you, will know j^ou no more ! But, 
though you feel the fatal stroke, hope not in it to find a 
termination of your woes. It will be the mere prelude to 
another trial, awfully terrific. Again you will be arraigned 
at the bar of justice, and the black record of a thousand 
crimes spread in your view. Again you must raise your 
trembling hand, but before a Judge, whose penetrating eye 
will spy the secret corners of your soul, whose power is 
fearful indeed ! Again you will be confronted with wit- 
nesses — and, horrible thought, the bleeding, murdered 
Mathis, probably dragged from the howling regions of 
despair, will appear in the number ; should you again be 
found guilty, your doom will be interminable woe ! Let me 
conjure you by every tie which yet has a hold upon your 
heart, to devote the scanty remnant of your days to serious 
preparation for your apj)roaching doom ! Strive importu- 
nately, I beseech you, to secure that Advocate, whose 
merits are all powerful, whose services alone can save you ; 
for in the exhaustless fountain of redeeming grace, even the 
foul stain of murder may be washed clean ! 

" The sentence of the Court is, that you be now carried 
from hence to the place from Avhence you came, and that 
on the last Friday in May next, between the hours of eleven 
in the forenoon and two in the afternoon, you be carried to 
the place of public execution, in the district of Union, there 
to be hanged by the neck until your body be dead, and 
may the Almighty God have mercy on your soul V 

The end of a brilliant career was now rapidly approach- 
insr. It is needless to remark, how much was crowded into 
a life not more brief than successful, not more singularly 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS. 517 

marked by its rapid rise to emiueucc, than the manner in 
whieh the highest honors thus early \von were borne ! It 
Avill suffice to say, that no man was ever more deservedly 
popular, more universally beloved, or more profoundly re- 
gretted iu his departure from earth than Samuel Wilds. 

There was, as we must conclude from tradition and con- 
temporary testimony, a charm in his manner and conversa- 
tion — in his countenance, his words, his actions, his life — 
about the whole man, in short, which has seldom, if ever, 
had a counterpart in any public character. 

Taken altogether, judged by what he was and what he did, 
for his life was short — he had scarcely completed his 35th 
year when death overtook him — it may well be questioned 
whether his native State has ever produced a better or a 
greater man. 

His last Court was held in Charleston. It was a most 
laborious session, tasking his vigorous powers to the utter- 
most. The work, however, was faithfully done, seventeen 
hundred suits having been disposed of, to the satisfaction of 
every party interested. To the last a brighter lustre was 
being added to his name. But, his race was finished ! The 
first intelligence received in the city fi'om the home to 
whieh he had returned with fond anticipations, was the 
announcement of his death. The blow was deeply felt. In 
all parts of the State his name had become a household 
word, and was gratefully and admiringly cherished. Adapt- 
ing himself, without effort, to all classes, he commanded the 
love and the homage of all. In Charleston, the seat of 
intelligence and refinement, where he won every heart from 
the first, the feeling produced by the tidings of his sudden 
and untimely end, was intense, and the public manifesta- 
tions of regard, affecting and impressive. In the country, 
meetings were also held, and every demonstration of respect 
and sorrow was made for one who was, in truth, a universal 
favorite. 

Of the action of the Charleston Bar on this melancholy 
occasion, the Courier of March 21st, 1810, contained the 
following notice : — 

" At a meeting of the gentlemen of the Bar in Charles- 
ton, convened on ]\Ionday forenoon, for the purpose of 



518 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

expressing tlieir respect for the memory of the Honorable 
Judge Wilds^ recently deceased, Timothy Ford, Esq., was 
called to the chair, and a committee appointed to frame 
resolutions, expressive of the object of the meeting, consist- 
ing of the following gentlemen, viz. : — The Hon. Langdon 
Cheves, William Loughton Smith, Esq., Keatiug L. Simons, 
Esq., and Charles Eraser, Esq., who reported the following 
resolutions, which were unanimously adopted, viz. : — ^ The 
members of the Bar of Charleston, being convened on the 
melancholy occasion of the death of the Honorable Samuel 
Wilds, one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas and 
Sessions of this State, have entered unanimously into the fol- 
lowing resolutions : — Whereas, the Bar of Charleston have 
received with emotions of heart-felt sorrow the mournful in- 
telligence of the death of Judge Wilds, and deplore this sad 
event, not only as a calamity to the public, who are thereby 
bereaved of an able, upright, and assiduous minister of jus- 
tice, but as being particularly afflicting to themselves, who 
were personally and cordially attached to him, as well from 
a high sense of his professional merit, as on account of his 
numerous private virtues, and of an uncommon amiableness 
of disposition and suavity of manners, happily blended with 
the dignity of deportment suitable to his high station : — 
Therefore, resolved, that they do, in testimony of theiv 
sentiments, most sincerely entertained by them, and as a 
tribute of affection and respect for his memory, wear crape 
on the left arm one month from the date of this resolution. 

" ' Resolved, that the Rev. Mr. Flinn be requested to 
deliver a sermon^ on the melancholy occasion, and that the 
members of the Bar do attend the same.^ '■* 

The Carolina Gazette of April 6th, 1810, published the 
following proceedings in Sumpter : — 

" Sumpter Court House, March 16th, 1810. 

" The gentlemen of the Bar at Sumpter Court, having 

heard of the death of the Honorable Judge Wilds, called a 

meeting of the members present, to take into consideration 

in what manner they should express their regret for his loss, 



* Mr. Fliiin preached au admirable discourse, as requested, which was after- 
wards published. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 519 

and their respect for his memory. The Honorable Judge 
Brevard was pleased, at their request^ to attend the meeting, 
and preside, when they came to the following resolution : — 
' We, the members of the Bar of South Carolina, convened 
at Sumpter Court House, dee^^ly impressed with the loss we 
have sustained in the death of the Honorable Judge Wilds, 
deem it equally a privilege and a duty to give expression to 
our feelings by some public mark of the respect we entertain 
for his memory ; to mingle our tears with those of his 
family and relatives, to sympathize with his friends, and to 
deplore, with our fellow-citizens at large, the calamity which 
has befallen the State, in the loss of one of its greatest 
ornaments. As a faint emblem, therefore, of the tribute 
due to departed merit, we do hereby resolve, that we will 
testify the grief which we feel at the loss of a man so 
virtuous and beloved, of a judge so able and so distinguished 
in the discharge of the duties of his office, by wearing crape 
on the left arm until after the next sitting of the Constitu- 
tional Court. 

'' Abraham Nott J. G. Mathis 

John S. Richardson Abraham Blanding 

John D. W^ithei'spoon James Ervin 

James S. Dees John B. Miller 

E. L. Witherspoon Thomas B. Mitchell 

James Caldwell James G. Spann." 

William Grant 

The 'Raleigh Star, of March 22nd, 1810, contained the 
following truthful and touching obituary notice : — 

" Died, at his seat near Cheraw Court House, on Friday, 
the 9th of March, the Honorable Samuel Wilds, one of the 
Associate Judges of the State of South Carolina. In this 
gentleman, his family, his friends, and his State have sus- 
tained a loss which will be as deeply regretted as it is 
irreparable. 

" He seemed formed by nature to conciliate affection and 
excite admiration ; for such was the benevolent sunshine of 
his countenance and the fascination of his manners, that to 
know him was to love him ; and such was the strength and 
disinterested liberality of his mind, that to converse with 



520 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

him was to receiA^e edification and feel the admiration due 
to superior intellect. He possessed a vis vivida animi, a rich- 
ness of imagination^ which_, while it decked with eloquence 
whatever it touched, displayed with better energy and grace 
the offspring of his judgment. His progress in life was 
proportioned to the superiority of his endowments. Holding 
the first place in the friendship of all who knew him, and 
the idol of his fellow-citizens, he rose with rapid strides, 
though still in his youth, to the first honors of his profes- 
sion. But, inscrutable are the ways of Providence. He was 
permitted to rise like the sun, enough above his horizon to 
give anticipations of the splendor of his meridian elevation, 
when the dark cloud of death passed over his face, and 
wrapt him for ever from our view. But he lives, and long 
will live in the fond and disconsolate affection of his amiable 
consort and connexions, in the admiration of his friends, 
and his State will long deplore the loss of the most pro- 
mising of her sons.''^ 

The fullest tribute to the memory of the departed jurist, 
who was, indeed, one of the noblest of men, appeared 
in the Carolina Gazette, of Charleston, March 30, 1810. 
It will aptly close the brief sketch of his life which has 
been given. 

" Sic transit gloria mundi." 

" Died, on Friday, the 9th inst., after a short and violent 
illness,^ the Honorable Samuel Wilds, one of the Judges of 
the Court of Common Pleas, and Sessions of this State ; 
within a few hours of the day which would have completed 
his thirty-fifth year. The death of this amiable gentleman 
and excellent citizen, was as unexpected aud afflicting, as 
his elevation to public esteem and distinction, had been 
rapid, brilliant and well merited. Some account of the rise 
and progress of a man, so deservedly esteemed and generally 
lamented, cannot but be acceptable to the community he hath 
so well served, and particularly to the inhabitants of this 
city, who have been so recently benefitted by the able and 
assiduous discharge of his public functions, as a minister of 
justice. 

* The disease was pneumonia. 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 521 

" He was born in Marlborougli District, in this State, of 
parents, who were of Welch extraction ; and was the eldest 
of a numerous family of young children, whom his father 
left, at a tempestuous season, to the care of a fond and 
exemplary mother, with little other inheritance than his own 
honest fame; with scarce other bequest than a parent's 
blessing ! But these were enough for the lamented subject 
of our remarks. A shrewd, sagacious boy, — a docile, 
obedient child — ere long he began to divide with his mother, 
the cares of her family, and by a degree of diligence and 
good management, seldom found in one of his age, be con- 
tinued to regulate the affairs of their narrow fortune, so as 
to lessen the toils of his surviving parent, and to augment 
the sum of her comforts. Yet, he was not contented. 'The 
young idea beginning now to shoot,' his ardent mind parched 
with the thirst of knowledge. Alas, his parent had not 
withal to sustain its appetite. Too kind, however, not to 
sympathize, too generous not to fan its noble flame, her 
maternal love, by dint of frugality and privation, found the 
means of gratifying the longings of her darling boy. He 
was placed by her at the St. David's School, in Cheraws, 
under the tuition of Mr. Park, a learned and respectable 
gentleman, now one of the Professors at the College at 
Columbia. His aspiring and teeming genius at once carried 
him ahead of all his young companions, in so great and 
rapid a proficiency, in all the branches of his studies, that 
he was soon, under the liberal patronage of his preceptor, 
promoted, with the allowance of a small salary, to the place 
of an assistant teacher. An incident here occurred, of which 
he ever spoke to his friends with delight. It was his lot to 
educate the lady who afterwards became his wife, and to 
whom, during a happy union of near twelve years, it may be 
truly said, he never gave ' a pang, but when he died.' Thus 
advanced, his pittant salary glowed like a mine in his eyes. 
'It now aiforded him the means for which he had often sighed, 
of opening the spring from whence he had tasted, with so 
much pleasure, to an only and beloved brother, a boy of 
promising parts. John Wilds was accordingly put to school 
by his brother. Some time afterwards, the latter succeeded 
to Mr. Parkj as principal teacher. His mind, now expanding 



522 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

as he advanced in years^ began to explore the path he 
was to tread in his walk through life. Endowed with an 
uncommon share of sagacity, with a sound judgment, a quick 
discrimination, and a large fund of native elocution, he 
selected the profession of the law, as the best theatre for his 
talents, and as presenting the readiest course, under the 
genius of our government, for his rise to distinction. 

" He accordingly entered on the study of the law, with the 
late Wm. Falconer, Esq. Still more the favorite of genius 
than of fortune, he was not enabled to devote his time and 
thoughts entirely to the study of his profession, but was 
obliged to divide them between that and the economy of the 
little patrimony which sustained his mother and sisters, and 
the duties of a place in the sheriff^s office of the district of 
his residence, from whence he derived a maintenance for 
himself and his brother. The time at length arrived for his 
entering upon the career which he hath run with so much 
honor to himself and usefulness to his country. 

" He was called to the Bar in the spring of ^98. It is 
needless to state that he was, immediately after his admis- 
sion to the Bar, engaged in every cause of importance in the 
districts adjacent to the place of his nativity. He had been 
so long and so much a favorite in these, that this circum- 
stance affords no test of his professional merit. In the 
remote districts of his practice, he quickly ranked among 
the most eminent in his profession ; and by the unaffected 
simplicity of his manners, and the native amiableness of his 
disposition, became in them as much beloved as among his 
own neighbours. 

'^ His first and most earnest wish now, was to establish and 
bring forward his brother. The latter being inclined to the 
study of physic, was, after having received the rudiments of 
his profession from Dr. Hawes, a gentleman of science 
resident in his neighbourhood, and a friend to the family, 
sent by his brother to Newport, in Bhode Island, to com- 
plete his professional education, under the late Dr. Seuter, 
and was also supplied by him with the means of occasionally 
attending the lectures of Dr. Rush, at Philadelphia. Having 
finished his studies, he returned home, and commenced the 
practice of physic. The fondest wishes of his brother's 



HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 523 

heart were now about to be consummated. This promis- 
ing plant, cultivated with so much labor and anxiety, put 
forth its tender buds, — fair to the eye ; but there came ' a 
frost, a killing frost,^ that nipt it in the flower. The 
amiable subject of our notice derived consolation from pre- 
serving his memory in honorable recollection. 

" Having unavoidably incurred some debts in beginning 
the practice of his profession, which he had done on the 
faith of the brightest prospects, now closed in the grave too 
soon for the performance of his engagements, it was felt by 
his brother as a sacred duty, to see them discharged ; and 
this he did in the spirit with which he accomplished all his 
duties. This rude shock, which closed for ever the channel 
wherein the benevolence of him who is our theme had 
delighted to flow, did not, however, dry up or impoverish its 
abundant source. It became, as soon as his pecuniary 
resources would admit, a maxim with him, to which he 
strictly conformed in practice, always to have flourishing 
under the genial warmth of his bounty and patronage, 
some tender shoot of genius that had been exposed to 
the frost of poverty. 

" Honored by the virtuous, and blessed by the poor, he still 
pursued the track of his bright destinies. In the autumn 
of 1800, he was unanimously elected a member of the House 
of Representatives of the Legislature of this State, from the 
district of Darlington. 

" Unbending, yet liberal in his public principles, it was his 
uncommon felicity to be cherished with pride and delight 
by his own party, at the same time that he enjoyed tlie 
general esteem and confidence, and in numerous instances, 
the cordial affections of his political opponents. 

" Under such circumstances, it could not be long ere his 
influence Avould become important and distinguished in the 
body of which he was a member. He accordingly enjoyed 
this distinction, not only with the consciousness of deserving 
it, but the heartfelt satisfaction of knowing, that the sense 
of this merit was a universal sentiment. This honorable 
height he reached, as well by an instinctive repugnance to 
all the bubbling devices of popular intrigue, as by the noble 
independence of his character, the abundant resoiu'ces of his 



524 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

Biind^ and an upright^ direct, manly pursuit of the measures 
lie believed to be connected with the public advantage ; 
Avhich held out to all that marked his course, ' the assurance 
of a man/ bent only on the welfare of the State. 

" In aid of those excellent qualities, and so estimable a 
character, w^ere a frankness of mind, without the least mix- 
ture of guile — an openness of heart, without the slightest 
tincture of bitterness or acrimony — a fascinating playful- 
ness of temper, that banished all semblance of harshness or 
austerity, and a presence beaming with the most happy 
mixture of benignity and sense — while withal, he carried 
himself with so modest a port, and with so much native, 
unassumed dignity, that he was wont, at the first introduc- 
tion, to seize upon the esteem and regards of his acquaint- 
ance, and bind them to him with a gordian knot. 

" Indeed, such was the unatfected simplicity of his manner 
and lively ' sunshine^ of his countenance, that he could, at 
the same moment, win the esteem of hoary age and draw 
lisping infancy to his bosom. 

'' Nor shall it be forgotten, that his eloquence, like the 
herald of the morn, precursed his race to the bright meridian 
of his public honors. His eloquence owed much to uature; 
as much to the care with which lie cultivated it. Ready, 
perspicuous, manly, and flowing, its general type partook of 
the amiableness of his disposition, being inclined, ' by 
winning words to conquer willing hearts^ — although it was 
susceptible, when he pleased, of a degree of elevation and 
energy, that stamped on it the features of a commanding 
character. 

" It shone most in a chaste and nervous expression of 
sentiment, imbibing nourishment rather from the passions 
than the fancy, and delightiug more in the glowing regions 
of the heart, than the serene fields of the imagination; 
though even hence it were wont to inhale many a fragrant 
breath, and to weave many a graceful wreath. It was, 
however, only the dress and ornament to his masculine 
reason. Endowed with a vigorous and ample understand- 
ing, which had surmounted every difficulty in its way, and 
profited by every occasion of enriching itself with precious 
lore — and being no less delighted with the fruit of logic, 



HISTORY or THE OLD CHE RAWS. 525 

than charmed with the flowers of rhetoric — he exhibited in 
discursive power^ a degree of strength and solidity, that 
was unrivalled by the flight of his elocution, 

" His mind always embraced a clear and comprehensive 
view of his subject, and his ratiocination was generally con- 
ducted from cause to consequence, by a beautiful and 
regular concatenation, though sometimes, it must be owned, 
its method was disturbed by an overruling bias to decla- 
mation — the eloquence of which, hoAvever, never failed to 
atone for his transgression of order. His moral excellences 
are sufficiently portrayed in the traits that have been given 
already of his character. The sentiments of filial piety and 
affection (it shall still be remarked), could but have deep 
root*; in a heart of so soft and generous a mould. One 
habit, which was fixed with him, will suffice to show this. 
It was his custom, ever, on returning home from a journey, 
especially after he had risen to distinction, at whatever 
hour of day or night it happened, immediately to visit his 
mother, who resided at a short distance from his own dwel- 
ling, that he might taste the joy his dutiful and aff'ectionate 
demeanor was wont to kindle in her aged bosom, and feast 
his soul with a parent's blessing. 

" Possessed of the qualities of mind above noticed, it would 
seem that a popular assembly had been a better theatre for 
his talents than the solemn bench of justice, and that they 
would have been attracted to the national councils as their 
most suitable sphere of action ; but his destiny ruled other- 
wise. 

" After having served for two years as Solicitor of the 
Northern Circuit, to which post he was almost unanimously 
elected, in December, 1802, and faithfully discharged the 
duties thereof — in fulfilling which he combined the softest 
feelings of humanity with an inflexible adherence to the 
claims of public duty — he was, in the year 1804, elected a 
judge of the Court of Common Pleas and Sessions of this 
State. 

" Seated now on a noble eminence, his mind seemed tc 
grow to the prospects around him, and although the cast of 
it may have appeared better adapted to another, but no less 
distinguished part, it was, nevertheless, here that it displayed 



526 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

its highest energies. How well he discharged the duties of 
this important station, may be seen in the records of our 
Courts, and will be read hereafter, in the juridical history 
of our State. How happily he performed them, may be read 
now in the sorrowful countenances of his brethren of the pro- 
fession, in the effusions of their grief, and in the public honor 
they have conferred on his memory. 

"^ It seemed, indeed, the pleasure of Providence, that this 
favored genius should mount to the skies, clothed in the 
radiance of a star. 

" ' Within a month, a little month,' after having accom- 
plished important services for the State, as a minister of 
justice ; after having displayed the powers of his mind, and 
the resources and readiness of his learning, during a long 
and laborious term, in examining and determining, with the 
soundest judgment and most accurate discrimination, the 
multifarious topics springing out of seventeen himdred suits, 
in which, though many were not litigated, many were, and 
some involving questions of a complicated and difficult 
nature ; after having sealed his labors with the affectionate 
adieus of his fellow-laborers, while yet on every tongue the 
living theme of praise, his soul rushed from its abode of clay, 
and sought its native heaven. 

" Oh, where is now the light of those eyes that beamed 
with so lovely a lustre ? Where that benignant smile ? 
Where the ' sunshine ' of soul that for ever played on 
that manly face ? Cease weeping, folly ! — they have fled 
with his spirit from the circles of men to the spheres of 
angels. 

" Yet it were allowable to shed on their departure some 
natural drops. Their image yet lives with us : it is engraven 
on the hearts of his numerous acquaintance ; it is embalmed 
in the tears of his mourning friends and relatives.^'* 

To this touching record of departed worth, watered with 
the tears of him from whom it emanated, may be added the 



* This tribute of affection was doubtless from tlie pen of that noble man 
and distin2:uished lawyer, Keating L. Simons, Esq., of Charleston, between 
whom and Judge Wilds the truest syinpathy and most cordial and endearing 
iriendship existed. 



mSTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 527 

effusion of another J* who born and reared in the same 
region with Judge Wikls, and probably his pupil in St. 
David's^ knew and loved him in his earlier years, and now 
joined, with all the generous ardor of his nature, in the 
general grief over his untimely end ! 

"FOR THE COURIER. 

" Lines occasioned hy the lamented death of the Hon. Judge Wilds. 

" Come, grief, with thy funereal train, 
'J'hy heart-afflicting sigh, 
And pity's elegiac strain. 

And sorrow's swollen eye. 
Cease pleasure's g:ty, deceitful sound, 
Our brows with cypress leaves be bound. 
As bending sad o'er virtue's bier, 
We wake the plaintive song, and shed the sorrowing tear. 

" With ceaseless hate, terrific foe. 
Death wields his vengeful arm j 
He lays the pride of valor low, 

And rifles beauty's charm. 
Yet why, insatiate tyrant, why 
A mark so noble and so high. 
To strike with vent'rous arrow dare. 
And folly's giddy tribe with cruel fondness spare ? 

" Virtue in vain her boast would save. 
And shield her favorite son ; 
Alas, he sinks into the grave. 

Heaven's holy will be done ! 
The wreath that learning had prepared, 
The patriot's brightest, best reward. 
Torn from his living brow, shall bloom 
A laurel ever green around his grassy tomb. 

" Though here his silent relics sleep. 
Cold in the chill embrace of earth, 
His early fate shidl genius weep. 

And justice tell his worth. 
Where shall his mourning country find 
So good a heart, so strong a mind ? 
A life so pure, such honorable fame. 
As that which shed its beams 'round Wilds' modest name ? 

" Ah ! why in quest of classic lore. 
Does wisdom idly toil ; 
The flow'ret scarcely blooms, before 

It withers in the soil. 
Yet still its fragrance shall survive, 
And still the fame of genius live. 
While fond remembrance on her gratefid breast. 
Its various worth records vvith deathless force imprest. 



Supposed to be John Lide Wilson, then in his twenty-sixth year. 



528 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 

" There still his voice shall charm the ear, 
And still in memory's tearful eye 
His form shall to his friends appear. 

And wake the mournful sigh. 
From earth removed, his manly soul. 
Far, far above the earth's control. 
On seraph's wings to heaven has flown. 
And joys in vu'tue's meed, religion's sacred crown ! 

"W. 

" March I7th, 1810." 



INDEX. 



Adams, among settlers on Pedee, 99 
Allison, Kevr. Mr., notice of, 69 

,, Dr. Robert, elected Sheriff for Marlborough, 460 
AUston, Peter, settles on Pedee, 105; his removal, 106 

,, Peter, Representative for St. David's, 4 16 
Ammons, Joshua, notice of, and meeting with Lafayette, 402-403, an! note 
Andrews, John, Adjutant under Kolb, 301 
Assembly, Commons House of, elects deputies to Congress, 206 

,, General, under new form of government, convened, ■258 
„ Address of Speaker of House and Council to President, 258 
,, Summoned to meet in Charles-town, 274 

,, Vacancies in, for St. David's tilled, 275 
,, prescribes Oath, its effects, original certificate of, 287-288 
Auld, John and Michael, pursuit of Tories, 330 
Ayer, Thomas, settles on Pedee, his family, 93 and note 

,, ,, reply when asked to ta^e oath of allegiance, 305 

,, ,, reward offered for by M "Arthur, 309 

,, „ capture of, and escape, 309-311 

,, Lewis Maloue's narrative of Kolo's death, and of pursuit by Tories, 

362-368 
,, ,, removal to Barnwell, and death, 93, note 

Bacot, Samuel, settles on Pedee, origin, and family, 105-106 
,, ,, adventure with Tories, 327-328 

„ ,, imprisonment and escape, 328-329, and note 

Baker, notice of family, 75 

,, Captain, of Georgia, skirmish with Tories, 386 
ar of Cheraws, 204 ; Lawyers at, 436 
Barheld, noted Tories of the name, 337 

,, Major, account of, and his perfidy, 338 

,, fight with Murphy at Bass's, 372-373 
„ notices of, 334, 337-338 
Baxter, James, settles on Poke Swamp, 79 
,, Colonel John, distinguished, 79 ; Representative for Liberty, 455 
,, one of the name hangs a Tory, 386 

,, Robert, Representative for St. David's, 445 ; his death, 451 
Bedgegood, Rev. Nicholas, notice of, and family, 96 and note, 97 

,, ,, preaches Sessions sermons at Long Bluff, 196 

,, ,, extract from his journal, 96, wo<e 

Benton, Lemuel, settles on Pedee, marriage, his family, 104 
,, a Major in command on Pedee, 352 

,, with Kolb after Tories on Cat Fish, 359 

,, Lieutenant-Colonel, 371 

,, his regiment allotted to Marion's Brigade, 377 

,, on Black Creek, skirmish of his force with Tories, 386 

,, another skirmish on Black Creek, 387 

,, writes to Governor Matthews, 388-389 

SJ M 



530 INDEX. 

Eenton, Lemuel, writes to General Marion, 390-391, 391-392 

,, „ opposed successively by Mr. Wilson and General Huger for 

Congress, 401 
,, „ Representative for St. David's, 415, 43-2, 445 

,, ,, County Court Justice for Darlington County, 433, 452 

,, ,, Escheator for Cheraws, 446 

,, ,, delegate to Convention in Charleston, 447 

„ ,, „ ,, „ „ Columbia, 451 

,, „ Sheriff for Cheraws, 451, 453 

,, ,, in Congress, and diflSculty with Major Thomas, 455-456 

,, ,, resigns commission as colonel, 456 

„ „ traits of character, 371 ; sketch of, and death, 401 

Bethea, William, settles on Little Pedee, his family, 86 
,, ,, attacked by Tories for his money, 394 

,, John, sen., and jun., after Tories, 393 
,, ,, punishes Snowden, a Tory, 394 

,, Philip, Representative for Liberty, 461 
Blackman, a Tory, punished by Colonel Murphy, 354 
Black Creek, Acts to improve navigation of, and commissioners, 446, 453 
Blakeney, John, settles on Lynche's Creek, his family, 100 
„ „ family of, suffer from Tories, 383-384 

„ Mrs. Mary, notice of, 384, note 

„ James, Representative for Chesterfield County, 456, 459 
Boundary line between North and South Carolina, 37-41, 469 
Botsford, Rev. Edmond, notice of, his marriage, 88, note 

„ ,, removes his family to Virginia, 439-440 

Braddock's defeat, followed by removals to Pedee, 92 
Bradley, a Tory, taken and killed by Colonel M'Ree, 394 
Brawler, Jacob, unequalled gift to his country, 403-404, and note. 
Brevard, Joseph, at Cheraw Bar, 436 
Brigman, a Tory, killed by Daniel Hicks, 385 
Brockington, Richard, his settlement and family, 90 
,, Mrs. Mary, 90, note 

,, Richard, Representative for Darlington, 456 
Brown, Rev. John, comes to Pedee, notice of, 64 
,, Colonel Thomas, ordered to Pedee, 333 

,, „ writes to General Harrington, 333, 334, 337-338 

,, John, County Court Justice for Chesterfield, 451 
,, Morgan, Representative for St. David's, 432, 445 
,, „ Senator for St. David's, 448 

,, ,, County Court Justice for Marlborough, 433, 452 

,, ,, delegate to Convention in Columbia, 451 

Brownfield, Doctor Robert, delegate to Convention in Charleston, 4 47 

„ „ Representative for St. David's 447, 448 

Bryan, Colonel, a Loyalist, notice of, 314 
Buckholdts, Jacob, mention of, family, 54, and note 
„ Creek, 76 

„ Abraham, Major of Cheraws Regiment, 226 

Bull Pen, notice of, 361-362, 364, 371 
Bullard, Joel, Sheriff for Chesterfield, 460 

Butler, Jef., "Tory Captain, notice of, adventure with Whigs, 395-396 
„ „ protected by Marion, 395 

Campbell, Captain, settles on Pedee, 441 

,, ,, his sons, Robert and John, notice of, 441 

Cannon, Henry, Representative for St. David's, 448 

,, ,, County Court Justice for Darlington, 451 

Cantey, Josiah, adventure with Tories, wounded, 359 
Carlos, Robeson, settles on Pedee, 443 
Cashway, origin of name, 78, note 
Caswell, General, writes to General Harrington, 309 
Cat Fish creek, Act to improve navigation of, and commisaioners, 453 



INDEX. 531 

Caucasian race, progressive, io8 
Cauliiins, at Cheraws Bar, 436 
Chapman, Allen, settles in Chesterfield, 442 
,, ,, Sheriff of Cheraws, 432 

,, John, settles in Chesterfield, 442 

Charge of Judge Drayton, 2 1 1 -2 1 5 
,, of Judge Grimke, 416-429 
,, of Judge Wilds, 502-509 
Charleston exposed to attack by sea, 251 

,, siege of, incidents o?, etfects on State, 295 

,, fall of, effects, and incidents, 302 

Charles-town, evacuation of, 392 
Chatham, when and why so called, 119, 179 ; origin and history of, as name 

of town, 463-465 
Cheraw settled, towB laid out by Kershaw, 118, 1 19 
,, when and why called Chatham, 119, 179 
,, commissions for erecting Court House, &c., 185 
„ petition and counter-petition, as to location, and action of assembly, 

185-192 
5> progress of buildings at Long Blufif, 194 
,, regiment, officers of, 135 
„ officers elected by Provincial Congress, 236 
,, Stockade Fort at, history of, 240-244 
,, prisoners sent to gaol of, 174 
,, sickness of British soldiers tliere, 319, 320 
,, Circuit Court for, continues to sit at Long Bluff, 436 
„ district, population of, 454, 465 
,, town of, its history, 463-465 
Cheraws, judicial district, bounds of, 185 
Cherrey, George, settles on Cat Fish, 10 1 
Chesterfield County, boundaries of, 433 

,, ,, after whom named, 436 

,, „ site of Court House, 434 

„ ,, Courts, when to be liolden, 434 

„ „ County Court, justices for, 433, 446, 451, 452, 455 

„ ,, presentment of grand jury for, 435 

J, „ representatives elected for, 454, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460 

,, ,, dividing line with Darlington run, 461 

Circuit Court continues to sit at Long Blufif, 436 
Circulating medium, petition for, 447, 448 ; time extended, 455 
Civil affairs, derangement of, 373 

,, ,, Marion writes to Governor Matthews about, 373, 374 
Clary, Daniel, estate confiscated, 380 
Clinton, Sir Henry, writes to Honorable Geo. Gervain, 306 

„ „ goes to the North, 307 

Colt, William, a settler, 79 
Colson, Abraham, early settler, 79 

Commerce, state of^ in province, 121 ; revived in 1776, 278 
Commissary receipts for provisions furnished during war, 298, 301 note, 347 

note, 371 notes 
Confiscation of estates to be made, 378 

„ Mrs. Steward petitions in behalf of her husband, and result, 378, 

379 ; notice of by Royal Gazette, 380 
,, Mrs. Mitchell petitions for husband, 415, 416 

Convention in Charleston to ratify Federal Constitution, 447 
„ ,, election for, where held, 447 note 

„ „ delegates from St. David's, their votes, 447 

,, in Columbia for State Constitution, delegates from St. David's, and 

their votes, 450, 451 
CJorawallis, Lord, succeeds Sir H. Clinton, 307 
,, ,, disposition of troops, 307 

„ „ writes Sir H. Clinton, 308, 314, 315 

M M 2 



532 INDEX. 

Cornwallis, Lord, account of failure of expedition on river, 317, 318 
,, ,, his prospects in Carolinas, 319 

,, ,, writes Honorable Geo. Gervain of Gates's advance, 323, 374 

,, ,, account of opening of battle of Camden, 324 

,, „ writes Sir H. Clinton of spirit of revolt in State, 345 

,, ,, feelings and prospects, 345-346 

,, „ writes Taileton about Green, 349, 350 

,, ,, cartel witli Green for exchange of prisoners, 367 

,, ,, declining fortunes, retreat to Wilmington, 368 

„ ,, account of his embarrassed situation, 369 

,, ,, writes General Phillips, 370 

Cotton, its cultivation, 116; specimens of cloth, 116 
Council, Captain, commands on Pedee, 333, 371 
Counties, first in Carolina, 31, 32 

,, Marlborough, Chesterfield, and Darlington, boundaries of, 433 

,, origin of three names, 436 

,, sites selected for Court Houses, 434 

County Court Act, provisions of, 432, 433 

,, ,, system remodelled, 450-452 ; abolished, 460, 461 
Court District, system established, account of, 459-460 
Court of Equity, how arranged, where to sit, 453 
Courtney, a Torj, killed by Whigs, 393 
Courts, want of, sorely felt, 121 

,, held only in Charles-town, evils of, 126, 127 and mo^e, 128 
,, first petition for from Pedee, 131-132, and note 
,, ,, „ action of council thereon, 132-133 

,, second petition for, from Pedee, and account of, 135 
,, next petition for, how disposed of, 137 
,, Circuit Court Act passed, account of, 137, T38 
„ ,, „ progress of bill in Parliament, 155 

,, ,, ,, gaining ground, Governor's address, 182-183 

,, ,, ,, provisions of and benefits, 184,185 

,, ,, ,, officers created, and appointments, 195, 196 

,, opened at Long Bluff, the occasion, 196 

,, last circuit of his Majesty's Justices, 230 
,, opened under New Constitution, 263 
,, suspended by war, 278 ; re-opened, 288 
,, closed again, 373 ; opened after war, 416 
,, ordered to be holden at Cheraws, not done, 454 
Coxe, Emanuel, notice of family, 99 

,, John, with Kolb after Tories, 359 
Craig, Alexander, notice of, 442 

J, ,, County Court Justice for Chesterfield, 455 

,, John, in Chesterfield, marriage, &c. , 442 
Craven County, its limits and settlement, 32 

,, ,, first parochial organization in, 32, 33 

,, ,, Prince George Winyaw, 33 

„ „ Prince Frederick's, 33 

,, „ line between two parishes, Act of, 33-35 

„ ,, St. Mark's, its limits, 36 

J, ,, line between St. Mark's and Prince Frederick's, 36 

J, ,, Regiment of, 120 

,, ,, extent of Prince Frederick's and St. Mark's, 166, 167 

Crawford, John, notice of, and the family, 71 and note 

,, James, captain in Revolution, 71 

Croly, old Mrs. spared by Whigs, 387 
Crosland, Edward, notice of, family tradition, 99 
CuUoden, batt.e of, followed by emigration to Pedee, 87, 88 
Cusack, Adam, his execution by Wemys, 303 and note 

Dabbs, Joseph, on Pedee, marriage and descendants, loi 
., „ with Kolb after Tories, 359 



INDEX. 533 

Uabbs, Joseph, killed by Toiies, 366 

JJaniel, a Wbi;^', blunder at Bass's, 372 ; atones for it, 373 
Dargan, Mr. Timothy, settles in Darlingtun, 440 
Darlington County, iis boundaries, 433 ; the name, 436 
,, ,, site of Court House, 434 

,, „ Courts when to be holden, 434 

„ ,, lire at C. H., account of, 453 and note 

,, „ County Court Justices for, 434,446, 451, 452, 457 

M ,, Justices of Peace for, 433, 452, 454 

), ,, Representatives for, 454, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460, 461 

,, ,, dividing line with Chesterfield, 461 

David, first of this name, account of family, 51 and note 

,, Joshua, wounded at Eutaw, 377 
David St., account of name, 162 and 7iote 
David's St., Parish established, 163-165 

„ „ nature and objects of organization, 166 

„ ,, some of Commissioners decline acting, 167 

,, ,, Journal of Vestry, organization, 166-167 

„ „ action as to church building, 174-175 

,, ,, officers elected, 175; subsequent elections, 177-181 

,, ,, efforts to procure a clerttyman, 175 

,, ,, church occupied by British, 176 

,, ,, taxes laid on Parish, 177-178 

„ „ parish expenditure, 178, r8o 

,, ,, organization ceases, iSi 

,, ,, ,, fails to meet wants of people, 182 

,, „ notice of Bill altering bounds of, 181 

„ „ church building, 181; grand jury presents it, 203 

,, ,, subscription in, for poor of Boston, 220-222 and note 

„ „ Committee of Observation for, their duties, 227-228, 229 

„ „ Members added to Committee, and duties, 237 

,, ,, action of Committee as to Col. Steward and John Mitchell, 

237-239 ' 

,, „ Commissions issued for Volunteer Companies in, 244-24O 

„ „ ammunition provided for, and want of, 244, 219, 253, 254 

,, ,, entitled to six representatives under new Constitution, 357 

,, ,, salt provided for inhabitants, 275 

,, ,, retains former number of representatives, 289 

,, ,, change in places of election, 276 

Davison, Colonel George, writes to General Harrington, 339 
Delaney, Captain, ooni'iands company on Pedes, 333 
Djwitt, IMartin, settles on Pedee, his family, 97 
,, Thomas, settles lower down, his family, 98 
,, ^VilliaIn, notice of, and family, 97 and note 
„ „ his house burned by British, 304 and note 

„ „ removes his family, 305 

,, ,, conduct as to oath of allegiance, 305 

,, ,, representative for St. David's, 378, 415 

„ „ Senator, 432 ; Sheriff for Cheraws, 416 

„ ,, County Justice for Darlington, 434 

„ ,, delegate to Convention in Charleston, 434 

„ Charles, County Justice for Darlington, 434 
„ William, kills Stephen Gainey, 376-377 
Dibble, John, at Cheraw Bar, 436 

Dick, William, notice of, 92 ; punishes Jeff. Butler, 395 
Diseases, which first known on Pedee, effects of climate, &c., 117, 1 18 
Donaldson, John, ist Lieutenant of Hangers, 236 

„ ,, escorts Mrs. Harrington to Cross Creek, 320 

„ ,, writes to General Harrington, 321 

Dopson, Joseph, first settler on Upper Pedee, 50 
Drayton, William Henry, account of appointment as Judge, 200 
„ „ ,, presides at Long Bluff, 209, 210 



534 INDEX. 

Drayton, William Henry, charge to grand jury, 2 1 1-2 15 

,, ,, ,, its effectsonpetitjuryandtheircharge, ^ij-^iy 

„ ,, ,, in Cljailes-town noticed in Parliament, 219 

,, ,, „ to grand jury in Charles-town, 263, 276 

,, ,, character, public service and death, 220 

Droughts, remarkable instances of, 117 

DuBose, John, first of name on Pedee, family, &c., 91 Rnd note, 92 
,, Elias, notice of his family, 92 

,, ,, adventure with Tories, 329 

„ ,, „ with Jeff. Butler, 395 

,, ,, Representative for St. David's, 432 

,, ,, County Justice for Darlington, 434 

,, ' Jsaac, 2iid Lieutenant in Regiment of Foot, 236 
,, Ezekiel, Representative for Darlington, 456, 459 

Earthquake, felt on Pedee, 461 

Education, sons of planters sent abroad, 122 
,, want of, sorely felt, 299 

Edwards, Rev. Joshua, emigrates to Pedee, notice of and family, 82, 83 and notes 

Elections, for Assembly, trouble at, apprehended, 154-156 
„ „ action of Vestry of St. David's, 167 

„ ,, elections held, and names of voters, 169,170,171,172, 

173 

„ „ within limits of Marion's Brigade ordered by Governor, 

377 
Ellerbe, Thomas, petitions for land, difficulty with Welch, 62, 63 

,, ,, account of name and family, 63 and 7iote, 64 and note 

,, Thomas, a captain under Kolb, 30J. ; under Benton, 371 
,, „ suffers from British, 313 

ElHson, Robert, petitions for relief under Amercing Act, 416 

,, „ Representative for St. David's, 448 ; senator, 454 

,, ,, delegate to Convention in Columbia, 451 

„ ,, County Court Justice for Darlington, 452 

,, ,, elected sheriff, 456 ; resigns seat in Legislature, 456 

„ ,, petitions for mills on Black Creek, and result, 458 

Embankments on river, 456 
Ervin, James, Representative for Liberty, 461 
Evans, notice of family, 52 a,ndnote, 64 
,, Nathan, his family, 75 and note 
„ Charles and George, settle on Lynche's Creek, 100 
,, Thomas, wounded at Kolb's, dies, 361 and note 
,, Charles, carried prisoner to Charles- town, 384 
,, ,, County Court Justice for Chesterfield, 433 

,, „ Representative for St. David's, 447 

„ ,, delegate to Convention in Columbia, 451 

,, Thomas, County Court Justice for Marlborough, 433, 457 
„ ,, Representative for St. David's, 447 

Export, first articles of, no 

Falconer, Wm., at Cheraws Bar, 436, 441 ; sketch of, 44 r, 442 
,, ,, Representative for Chesterfield, 454, 456, 459 

,, „ C. C. Justice for Chesterfield, 455 

,, ,, connexion with District Court system, 459, 460 

,, ,, letter to Alex. Craig, 468-470 

,, ,, character, anecdote, and death, 467 and note, 468. 470 and note, 

471 
Fanning, the Tory, excepted from truce, 376, 397 

,, adventure with Hunter, 396, 397 

,, character and subsequent liistory, 397 

,, attack on Robert Gregg, 397 
Ferries, petitions foi-, 446 
Flax, why abandoned, in 



INDEX. 535 

Fletchers, the family, 99 

Forniss, William, notice of, 10 1 

Ford, John, Eepresentative for Liberty, 459 

Fowler, Rev. Andrew, visits Cheraw, notice of, 166, note 

Foulis, Rev. Mr., notice of, 175 aad 7iote 

Freshets, in Pedee, 456 

Gainet, Major, difficulty with Murph}-, 374 

,, „ writes to Marion on subject, 374, 375 

„ ,, truce with Marion, 375, 376 

,, ,, defection, character, and history, 376 

,, Stephen, killed by Wm. Dewitt, 376, 377 
Galespy, James, petitions for land, his family, 61, 62 
„ ,, jun., anecdote of, 305 

„ ,, „ raises a force against expedition on river, 316 

,, „ „ guide for Green, 353, note 

Gates, General, arrives at Pedee, proclamation, 322 
,, „ advances towards Camden, 323 

,, ,, Cornwallis's account of the movement, 323, 324 

,, ,, defeat and flight, 325 

,, ,, writes to Gen. Harrington, 331-334 

Gazette, Royal, merry over Governor's proclamation, 374 
„ ,, notice of Confiscation Act, 380 
,, ,, merriment at expense of Whigs, 381 

,, ,, sarcastic notice of books to be published, 381 

Gervais, John Lewis, writes Gen. Harrington, 321, 322 
Gibson, Jordan, his removal, 73 

,, Gideon, notice of, and family, 73, 74, and notes 
,, ,, connexion with trouble at Mars Bluff, 139, 140, 145, 146 

,, „ killed by Murphy, 354 

„ Jordan, after Tories, 393 

,, alleged murder of Kolb, excepted from truce, 376 
Giles, Col. Hugh, notice of, 70 

,, ,, raises volunteer force, 326 

Glen, Duke, adventure with Tories, 384, 385 
Godfrey, Richard, notice of, and famdy, 103 
Godbold, John, early settler, notice of, and family, 68, 69 and note 

,, Hugh, notice of, 69 and note 
Goings, Mike, murderer of Kolb, 36 1 

Government retains supplies, 382 ; Gen. Pinckney's letter on subject 382 
Governor, Royal, flight from Charles-town, 374 
Grand Jury, first presentment at Cheraws, 196-198 

„ ,, subsequent presentments, 198, 199, 201-203, 217, 218, 230-233 

,, ,, of Cheraws, only one making presentment, 233 and note 

„ „ presentments under new Constitution, 264-266, 276, 277, 288, 

289, 429, 430 
,, ,, efiects of presentments on people, 200, 277, 278 

Grants, earliest to lands on Pedee, 50 ; others made, 54, 56, 57, 73, 8r 

,, curious reservations in, 115 
Gray, Robert, estate confiscated, 380 
Gregg, John, petitions for land, notice of, and family, 86, 87 , and note 

„ Joseph, his family, 87, and note 

,, Captain James, marches to Cliarles-town, 294, 301—- 

,, ,, ,^ suffers by Tories, 383 

,, Robert, attacked by Fanning, 397 
Green, General, movements of, marches to Pedee, 349 

„ ,, efifects of presence there, 351, 352 

„ ,, leaves Pedee, his march, 353 ; effects on people, 353 

,, „ cartel with Cornwallis, 367 

„ ,, cautions Marion against Tories, 371 

Greenville, time and origin of name, 436 
Grimke, Judge, charge at first court after war, 416-4:9 



536 INDEX. 

Hanford, Enoch, teacher in St. David's, 438 
Harrallson, Lewia, Kepresentative for Liberty, 459 
Harllee, William, emigrates to America, 443 

„ Thomas, settles in Marion, 443 
Hart, Arthur, account of and family, 105, and note 

,, ,, his death, 278 

Harrington, Henry William, emigrates to Pedee, his family, 104, 105, and note 
„ „ ,, commissioned captain, 239, and note 

,, ,, ,, at Haddrell's Point, 274 

„ „ ,, elected Member of A-semb^y, 275 

,> ,, ,, writes to Oolonel Kershaw, 289, 290 

,, ,, ,, military promotions, 296, 297 

,, ,, ,, head-quarters, where, 297 

„ ,, ,, marches N.C. Militia to Charles-town, 301 

„ ,, ,, writes to Mrs. Harrin^ion, 302 

,, ,, ,, loss of and notice of valuable negro, 313, wofe 

„ „ ,, suit after war for negro, 313 7io<e 

„ ,, ,, sends detachment witb negro to Anson, 321 

,, ,, ,, account of his servant, Toney, 321, note 

,, ,, ,, movements after Gates's defeat, 330, 331 

„ ,, ,, arrives at Haley's Ferry, and Clieraw, 336 

,, ,, ,, moves up river, and to Grassy Creek, Hoanoke, 347 

,, ,, ,, adventure with robber, 397-399 

,, ,, ,, character and death, 399 

,, Mrs., adventure with Briti-h, 312 

,, ,, ,, with Tories, and suit, 329, 330, and note 

,, ,, ,, safe conduct to Cross Creek, 320 

,, ,, notice of, 399 

larrison, two brothers, Tories on Lynclie's Creek, 308 

,, Major, adventure with Murphy in Charles-town, 400 
Hawes, Dr. Oliver, settles at Society Hdl, notice of, 443 
Hawthorn, brought to Pedee, ^^2, note 

Hawthorne, murdered by Tories, his son's revenge, 394, 395 
Hemp, cultivation of abandoned, 1 1 1 
Hewstiss, name known early, true Whigs, 98 

Hicks, George, petitions for land, notice of and family, 79, St, and note 
,, ,, captain in King's service, 119 

,, ,, as major starts with detachment to Congarees, 249 

,, ,, marches to Charles-town, 256 

,, ,, Chairman of Committee of OiiservMtion for St. David's, 23S 

,, ,, Warden of St. David's Society, 281 

,, ,. removes with family to Virginia, 327 

,, ,, Commissioner of Caveats for Cheraws, 432 

,, ,, 0. C. Justice for Marlborough, 433 

,, ,, sketch of, 402 

,, Daniel, adventure with Tories, 385 
,, Benjamin, jun.. Inspector of Tobacco at Cheraws, 430 
,, ,, ,, delegate to Convention in Charles- town, 447 

,, ,, ,, delegate to Convention in Columbia, 451 

,, ,, ,, Representative for Marlborough, 454 

,, ,, ,, C. C. Justice for Marlborough, 455 

Hodge, notice of family, 101 
Horse-pen, origin of name, no 
Hughes, a Tory, spared by Whigs, 386 
Hunter, Dr. Robert, notice of, 69 

,, Andrew, adventure witli Fanning, 396, 397 

,, ,, Representative for St. David's, 445 ; for Darlington, 457 

Indian tribes in Carolina, i 

,, territory, of tribes on Pedee, 2; language, 19 
,, remains in Pedee, 21, 22, 23 
,, mode of clearing lands, 24; grave opened, 25 
,, habits and customs, 23, 26-29 



INDEX. 537 

Indians, Catawbas, tradition, 2 ; origin, 3, 19 

,, ,, removal, settlement, territory, and language, 3-5 

,, ,, visit to Charles-town, with Cheraws, 9 

,, ,, murder of some by NotchebS, 10,11 

,, ,, Governor's visit to them and others, 11, 12. 

,, ,, their effort for union with other tribes, 13, 14 

,, ,, visited by John Evans, 15, 16 

,, ,, smallpox among them, its effects, 16, 17 

„ „ union with Cheraws, 18 ; their town, 18 

,, ,, decline and number, 18 

,, ,, removal to North Carolina, 19 

,, Cheraws, how name called at different times, i 

,, ,, their territory, 2 ; first mention of, 5 

,, ,, advised to unite with Catawbas, 17 

,, ,, meaning of Cheraw, 19,20 

,, Kadapaws, where found, 2 

,, Pedees, locality, 2 ; first mention of in public records, 8 

„ ,, murder of one by Wm. Kemp, 8, 9 

,, ,, visit to Charles-town, and presents to them, 10 

,, „ addressed by Governor at Congarees, 12 

,, ,, owners of slaves, 13 

,, „ urged to settle among Catawbas, 13, 14 

,, ,, murder of some by Notchees, 15, 16 

,, ,, meaning of Pedee, 20,21 

,, travellers among them, Lederer, 5-8 

„ „ ,, ,, Bartram, 2,5; Lawson, 26-28; his end, 29 

„ ,, ». ). Adair, 5 

,, Sara, its locality, 6-8 

,, Winyaws, their locality, 2 
Indigo, account of, iii, 112, and. note 
Insurrection of slaves, 234, 456 
Internal improvements, necessity for, 109 

,, ,, roads, bridges, and ferries, 112, 113, 114 

„ ,, ,, ,, grandjury notice them, 197, 19S, 201 

Irby, Charles, notice of, family, 92, and note 

,, Edmund, commander under Kolb, 301 
Irish Protestants, their petition and locality, 74, 75 ; Irish town, 75 
Izard, Walter and Ralph, early settlers, removal, 75 

Jackson, Stephen, captain under Kolb, 301 ; under Benton, 371 

,, Benjamin, C.C. Justice for Chesterfield, 433 
James, James, leader of Welch colony, 52 

,, Eev. Philip, account of, 52 • 

,, John Jones, Representative for Marlborough, 454, 456 
,, „ ,, C.C. Justice for Marlborough, 457 

Jamieson, Colonel, early settler, 75 
Jay's treaty, meeting at Darlington to consider, 455 
Jeffrey's Creek, act passed for navigation of, and commissioners, 453 
J oily, Joseph, early grantee of land, 54 

Jones, Captain Joseph, leads Tory party against Colonel Kolb, 360 
„ ,, ,, subsequent history, 367, and note 

,, John, one of party at Colonel Kolb's, 361, and note 
,, Captain Joseph, commands guard at Kolb's Ferry, 371 
,, Elias, teacher in St. David's, 438 
Justices of Peace, first appointments of, 133 

„ for Cheraws, under new Constitution, 257-258 

„ for three counties, 433, 452, 454 

„ importance of office under C. C. Act, 434 

KiiRSHAW, Eli and Joseph, settle at Cheraw, 104 

„ ,, elected captain of rangers, 236 

,, „ advertises property, removal, 119, note 

Kimijrough, John, notice of, and family, 90-91 



538 



INDEX. 



King, Eli, teacher in St. David's, 437 

,, Dr. Miles, settles at Society Hill, 443 
Kolb, Jacob, petitions for land, 50 

Henry, petitions for land, his family, 83, 84 and note 
Jehu, his character, 84 
Abel, family and residence, 84 note, 268 
,, Warden of St. David's Society, 281 
,, marches troops to Charles-town, 301 
,, commands at Long Bluflf, afier Gates's defeat, 327, 344 
„ return of his force to General Harrington, 344 
,, in full tide of .success on Pedee, 352 

,, difficulty and correspondence with Captain Snipes, 354-355 
,, writes to General Marion, 355-356 
,, pursues Tories to Drowning Creek, 358-359 
,, goes to Cat Fish after Tories, 359-360 
„ surprised by Tories, his death, 360-361, 363 
„ character, effects of his death, 366, 367 

Lafayette, General, marches to join Southern forces, 371 

,, interview with Joshua Ammons, 402-403 

Lands, first advertisements for sale of, 54, 74, 75 
Legislature, canvass for, in Darlington, 458-459, 461 
Lewis, Kev. Joshua, pastor at Welch ISfeck, 440 
Lide, notice of, family, 77 
John, his family, 77 

Thomas, his character and family, 78 and note 
Robert, settles on Pedee, his descendants, 78, 79, and note 
,, marches detachment to Charles-town, 302 
,, incident of Mrs. Lide, and death, 302 
,, Commissioner of Caveats for Cheraws, 432 
,, C, C. Justice for Darlington, 434 

Charles Motte, notice of, 473 

,, seeks admission to Bar, speech on occasion, 474, 480, 482 

,, goes to Columbia, admitted to Bar, 480 

„ removes to Georgia, account of enterprise, 480-482 

„ farewell, on departure from, 481-482 

„ suit growing out of his father's will, history of, 482-483 

1, speech in 1814, 483-488 

,, „ before Appeal Court in Equity, 480-496 

,, ,, remarkable peroration, 496 and woie 

„ memorial to Legislature, 496-497 

„ appearance, and speech before joint committee, 497 and 

note • 
i> ,, chnracter, genius, and end, 497-498 

Light Horse Troop, petition for, action thereon, and officers, 448-449 
Long Bluff, origin of settlement there, why called so, 118 and note 
,, Court House there, 193 

,, stockade, with guard there, 371 

,, appropriation for public buildings at, 457 ; repaired, 458 

Lowder's Lake, petition for opening, and commissioners, 457 
Lowry. notice of family, 179, note 
Loyalists, character of, 267 

Lucas, John, adventure with old Mrs. Croly, 3S7 
Luke, John, grantee of land in Welch Neck, 79 
Lynche's Creek, Acts to improve navigation of, and commissioners, 446, 453 

Macay, Major Spence, writes General Harrington, 322, 323 
Magistrates for Cheraws District, 225; why names published, 225, 226 

., vindication of by grand jury, 232, 233 

Manderson, Capt. George, escape at Hunt's Bluff, 311 and note 

,, John, notice of, 104 
Manufactures, first specimen of, and prospects for, 116 



INDEX. 



539 



Manufactures, domestic, efforts to promote, 157, 158 
,, notice of Christopher Gadsden, 1 58 

,, subscription for papers in St. David's, 159 and no<e, 160 endnote 

Marion, Col. Francis, operations before and after Gates's defeat, 326-3'2 7 
notice of his defeat in Royal Gazette, 34! 
attempt on George-town, 343 
his military status at this time, 343, note 
writes to General Harrington, 343, 344 
writes General Sumpter about Capt. Snipes, 356, 357 
con-espondence with Major Gainey, 375, 376 
troubled about writs of election in brigade, 377 
regiments composing liis brigade, 392 
Markets, for first settlers, no 
Mars Bluff, origin of name, 69, note 
Marshall, Adam, settles at Long Bluff, 443 

Marlborough County, its boundaries, 433 ; after whom named, 436 
,, ,, site for Court H*6use, 434 

„ ^ ,, Courts, when to be holden, 434 

,, „ C. C, Justices for, 433, 446, 451, 452, 455, 457. 45^ 

,, ,, justices of peace for, 433, 452, 454 

,, „ representatives for, 454, 456-461 

Martin, Col. Alex., writes Gen. Harrington, 334, 335 
Matthews, Governor, writes Marion in reply to Benton's letter, 389, 390 
Matthis, Samuel, C. C. Justice for Darlington, 451 
M'lntosh, John, settles on Pedee, his family, 88, 89 and note 
,, Alexander, notice of him, his family, 89 and note 
„ ,, union of family with Welch, 90 

,, ,, captain in King's service, 119 

.,, ,, elected major by Provincial Congress, 236 

,, „ receives letter from Council of Safety, 251, 252 

,, ,, elected lieutenant-colonel, 256 

„ ,, Member of Legislative Council, 279 

,, ,, President of St. David's Society, 281 , 

„ ,, made brigadier-general, 285 

„ ,, commands in Georgia, 292 

,, ,, reply to Gen. Moultrie, 293 

,, ,, celebrated reply to enemy, 294 

,, „ commissioner at Charles town, 295 

,, ,, his character and death, 346, 347 

,, Capt. Alexander, commands under Benton, 371 

„ ,, in skirmish on Black Creek, 387 

,, ,, notice of him, 387, note 

„ ,, C. C. Justice for Darlington, 451, 457 

„ ■ „ , Representative for Darlington, 454 

,, ,, Commissioner of Locations for Cheraws, 455 

,, „ ' Sheriff for Cheraws, 458; for Darlington, 460 

M'lver, Roderick, notice o^ his family, 88 undmote 
,, Sarah, early settler, 88 
,, union of family with Welch, 90 
,, John, elected senator, 459.. 
M'Arthur, Major, reaches Cheraw, 308 
,, „ goes to Long Bluff, 309 

,, ,, offers reward for Thomas Ayer, result, 309-311 

,, ,, at Cheraw, sends party to General Harrington's, 312 

,, ,, retreat from Pedee, 315-318, 371 

„ ,, sends expedition down the river, 316, 317 

M'Dowell, William, notice of, 100, and note % 

M'Call, George, notice of, 301, and note 

,, ,, joins Marion, impression of Marion, 326, 327 

M'Rae, Duncan, C. C. Justice for Chesterfield, 451 
M'Ree, Colonel, adventure with Bradley, 393, 394 
,, „ Representative for Liberty, 457 



540 INDEX. 

M'Culley, Andrew, teacher in St. David's, 437 
Medal of Pitt, account of, 122, 123, and note 124 

M _ statues and rings, and statue in Cliarles-town, 124, 125, endnote 
Mil's, earliest in Pedee country, 63, note; no, iii, note; 118, 119, note 
Militia, first review on Pedee, officers, 120 ; from Pedee in constant service, 377 

,, returns of, 446, 457, 461 

,, return of Colonel Spencer's regiment, 462 
Military condition of Province, 119, 120; organization, 120 

,, further Acts on organization of, 285 

,, ardor in Province, 2.^6, 292 

,, strength in Carolina at close of 1779, 298 
Mills, William Henry, elected to Provincial Congress, 254 
)> )t M takes sides with British, 304 

)» >) „ made colonel by Royal Government, 316, 318 

I) }, „ escapes to George-town, 316 

.5 M ,, estate confiscated, banishment, and history, 380, 381 

Mikell, John, notice of and family, 89 and note, 90 
Mitchell, John, a trader, 106 

„ Mrs. Elizabeth, petitions for her husband, result, 415, 416 

Moultrie, General William, writes to Cdonel M'Intosh, 293 
Murphy, first of the name, and its change, 71, and note 

,, Malachi, notice of, and family, 71, 72, and note 

„ Maurice, and his son, 72 

,, Michael, petitions for land, 72, 73 

,, Colonel Maurice, commands on Pedee, notice of, 298, 333, 352, 371 

J) ,, ,, punishes Blackman, a Tory, 354 

,) ,, ,, kills Gideon Gibsnn, 354 

„ ,, ,, adventure wi h Tories at Bass's, 372, 373 

,, ,, ,, difficulty with Gainey, 374 

,, ,, ,, attacks Harrison in Charles-town, 400 

,, ,, ,, attacks Tory at Jeffrey's Creek, 400 ; his end, 400 

,, Malachi, wounded and escapes at Bass's, 373 

Navigation of Pedee, earliest account of, 62 

,, ,, Acts passed on subject, and commissioners, 43O; 431, 

. 446, 453 . . 

,, ,, history of legislation on subject, 431, 432 

,, ,, effectually opened, 464 

Negros, remarkable, instances of, 313 note, 321 note,^'j'j 

,, returns of, in British service, 346 
Nett'es, Zachariah, C. C. Justice for Darlington, 434 
Neville, William and Thomas, after Tories, 393 
Newberry, District, why so called, 53, note 
Nicholas, Colonel, writes to General Harrington, 331 
JJorris, Dr. Robert, C. C. Justice for Darlington, 451 
Nut Grass, notice of, 442, note 

Oath of allegiance after fall of Charles- town, 304 

,, ,, course of people in connexion with, 305 

,, ,, incidents connected with, 304, 305 

Odom, Levi, a Whig, kills Courtney, 393 

Paeish organization, want of, felt, 125 

I'ark, Thomas, teacher in St. David's, 437 ; subsequent history, 437, 438 

Parker, Elisha, notice of, family and descendants, 98 

,, Thomas, at Cheraws Bar, 436 
Pawley, Colonel George, notice of the family, 100 
Pearson, family settlement, 1 79, note 
,, Moses, a noted captain, 79, note 
„ „ C.C. Justice for Marlborough, 433 

Pegues, Claudius, his arrival, settlement, and account of family, 94, 95, and 
note 
. ,, ,, active in affair at Mars Bluff, 147 



INDEX. 541 

Pegues, Claudius, elected to Assembly from St. David's, 171 
,, ,, declines seat in provincial Congress, 254 

,, ,, suffers from Biiiish at Clieraw, ^[-^ 

,, ,, C.C Justice for Marlborough County, 433 

,, ,, his singular end, 399 

,, William, Represeutaiive for St. David's, 378, 415, 432 
,, ,, suffers from British, Mrs. Pegues' escape, 385, 386 

,, ,, inspector of tobacco at Cheraw, 430 

,, ,, C.C. Justice for Chesterfield, 433, 452 

,, ,, Repiesentalive fur Chesterfield, 454 

,, Claudius, jun., captain under Benton, 371 
,, ,, ordinary for Cheraws, 374, 416 

,, ,, incident at Eutaw, 377 

,, ,, Representative for St. David's, 415, 432 

,, ,, C.C. Justice for Marlborout;h, 433 

Pendleton, Honorable Henry, elected Representative for St. David's, account 
of, 297, 298 
,, ,, ,, active in passage of C lunty Court Act, 432 

Penn, J , writes to General Harrington, 332, 333 
Petitions for Ferries, 446 ; for tt)bacco inspection at Cheraw, 450 
,, for circulating medium, 447, 448 ; for its extension, 455 
,, for troop of light horse, action thereon, 448, 449 

,, for opening Lowdei's Lake, 456, 457 
,, against meisurer of lumber, kc, at G-eorge-town, 457 
,, for canal from Roger's lake to Pedee, 458 

,, from Robert Ellison, for mills on Black Creek, 458 
Piney Grove, where, 93 
Planter's club, notice of, 119. 

Pledger, Philip, arrival, notice of family, 85 and note, 86 
„ „ captain in king's service, 119 

„ ,, adventure witli Driggers and his gang, 194, 195, and note 
„ ,, horses taken by British Lieutenant, 313 and note 

,, ,, Representative for St. David's, 378 
,, John, captain under Benton, 371 
,, Joseph, CX . Justice for Chesterfield, 433 
Poelnittz, Baron de, settles on Pedee, his family, 442, 443 
Populatitm of Clieraw District, 454, 465 
Posts, British, nearest to Charles- town, 306 
Pouncey, William, his family. 84, and note 
Powe, Thomas, account of, and family, 102, 103 

,, ,, Representative for St. David's, 415, 432 

,, ,, Commissioner of Location, 430 

,, ,, C.C. Justice for Chesterfield, 433, 452 

,, ,, declines seat for St. David's, 453 

Powell, Colonel G. G., visit to iMars B uff, and letter, 146-149 
,, ,, visit to Broad River, 150 

„ ,, member of Assembly for St. David's, 173, 177 

,, ,, appointed Judge, 173, 184 

,, ,, deputy from St. David's in Provincial Congress, 20S 

„ ,, Colonel of Clieraws Regiment, 226 

,, ,, in Provini'ial Congress, 240 

,, ,, declines seat for St. Philip's in favor of St. David's, 247 

,, ,, ordered with regiment to Congarees, 248 

,, ,, elected judge under new Constitution, 259 

,, ,, retains seat for St. David's, 259 

,, ,, letter to Assembly as to charges against him, 275 

,, ,, character and death, 292 

Pratt, Wm., with Duke Glen, against Tories, 385 

Presentments of Grand Jury, 196-198, 198-199, 201-202, 203, 217-218, 2 ^c- 
233, 264-266, 276-277, 288-289, 429-430, 435 
,, of Petit Jury, 216 
Prices, early notice of, 60, 61, and note 



542 INDEX. 

Prices of slaves, 117 

Province, general prosperity of, 115, 116 

Provincial Congress, first meeting, account of, 207-208 

,, second meeting, and objects, 208-209 

,, deputies from 8t. David's, 209 

„ meeting ist January, 1775, action of deputies of St. 

David's, 226-227 
,, circular letter to St. David's, 234 

,, Association formed, other action, 235-236 

,, military organization by, 236 

,, meeting, Nov. 1775, and action, 247-249 

,, orders payment to Major Hicks, and others, 255, 256 

„ action for defence of colony, &c., 255, 256 

,, oath prescribed, effects on people, 263 

Public Buildings, appropriation for, 457 ; repaired, 458 

,, Commissioneis for building, &c., in three districts, 460 

Pugh, Rev. Evan, notice of, and family, 102 

,, ,, officiates in St. David's Church, 175 

,, ,, extracts from Journal of, 267, 268, 296, 301 note, 302, 304, 

306, 326, 346 note, 353, 371, 372 
„ ,, preaches thanki^giving sermon, 296 

,, ,, elected delegate to Convention in Columbia, 451 

,, „ preaches sermon commemorative of Washington, 446 Jioie 

„ ,, character and death, 466 and note 

„ Ezra, notice of, talents and death, 472-473 
Punch, John, settles at Society Hill, 443 
Purvis, John, petitions for land, and settles, 81-82 

Quick, notice of the family, loi and note 
,, Thomas, a gallant Whig, loi 
,, „ incident of at Eutaw, 377 

Regulators, origin andhistory of their movements, 128, 129, 157, 155, 160, 161 

,, troubles in North Carolina, 129, 153, 154 

,, in other parts of South Carolina, 130, 135 

,, about Camden, 134 

,, notice of outlaws, &c., 134, 135 

,, Governor's address about, and Assembly's reply, 136, 137 

,, Lieut.- Governor's remarks about, 136, 137 

,, accounts of from back country, 138, 139, 144, 149, 151, 152, 153, 

154- i55> 182, 194 and note 

,, character of leaders, 138, 146 

,, accounts of affair at Mars Bluff, 139, 140, 144, 145, 155, 156 

,, traditional account, 150 and note 

,, Governor's proclamations and effijrts, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145 

„ Col. Powell's mission and letter, 146-149 

„ demands of the people, 154, 155 

,, Governor's address and Assembly's reply, 156, 157 

Revolution, incipient causes of, 122, 126, 127, 128 

,, progress of feeling, 205, 206 

,, effects of repeal of Stamp Act, 206 

„ Scheme of East India Company, and course of Parliament, 206, 207 

,, Town Meeting called, 207 

,, list of some from Pedee in service, 404-414 

Roach, Henry, petitions for land, 62 
Robertson, Major Drury, settles in Marlborough, 442 

,, „ Representative for St. David's, 448 

,, „ County Court Justice for Marlborough, 451, 458 

,, ,, Representative for Marlborough, 456, 459 

Rogers, Nicholas, grantee of land, family, 65, 66 and 7iote 
„ Benjamin, one of Glen's party, 3S4 
„ ,, Sheriff for Cheraws, 446 



INDEX. 543 

Royalty, last days of, in Carolina, 224 
,, Royal Governor's flight, 240 
Rushing, John, notice of, 82 

Rutledge, Governor, writes to Marion about Benton's Regiment, 377 
,, „ sends Marion writs of election, 377 

Sandy Bluff Settlement, account of, 70 

,, subsequent history of, and visit there, 74 and note 

Sauls, Absolom, County Court Justice for Darlington, 451 
Saunders, one of families at Sandy Bluff, 7 1 
,, John, notice of, and family, 73 
,, George, his untimely end, 73 note 
Settlements, made first on coast, and extension, 31 

„ where first made in interior, 51, 66, 70, 117 

„ inducements held out to emigration, 42 

,, in lower part of Welch Tract, 69 

,, settlers and church building, 69 and note 

,, on Little Pedee, 86 

,, on Lynohe's Creek, 100 

,, whence their elements derived, 108 

,, on Black Creek, 100 

Shaw, William, notice of, 404 note 
Shoemake, a Tory, notice of, 373, 393 
Slaves, increase of among first settlers, 73 

Smallwood, Gen., writes to Gen. Harrington, 336, 337, 341-343 
Smith, Col. John, settles in Darlington, 440 
,, Andrew and Ralph, notice of, 441 

„ John, C. C. Justice for Darlington, 452 ; Representative, 454 
,, Dr. Thomas, notice of, 500, note 
Snipes, Capt. Wm. Clay, difficulty and correspondence with Kolb, 354, 355 
Snowden, a Tory, punished by John Bethea, 394 
Society of St. David's, organization and history of, 280-284 
,, „ subscription paper in aid of, 282, 283 

,, „ first school-house, 284 

„ „ revived after war, 436 ; officers, &c., 436, 437 

„ ,, escheated property given to, 438 

,, ,, deceased members of, 438, 439 

„ „ members dismissed, 439 ; added, 439 

,, ,, academy building, 440 

„ „ famous exhibition, 453 

,, ,, later pupils of, alluded to, 472 

Society Hill, origin of, 440 
Soldiers, list of, in war, 404-414 
Sorrency, Samuel, petitions for land, 58 
Sparks, four brothers, account of, 98, 99 

,, Daniel, his cliaracter and family, 98 and note, 99 
,, Harry, hung by Tories, and fate of one of Tories, 358 
,, Daniel, captain under Benton, 371 
Spencer, William and Calvin, notice of, 106 

„ Calvin, Representative for St. David's, 432, 445 
,, ,, C. C. Justice for Chesterfield, 433, 452 

„ ,, delegate to Convention in Chailes-town, 447 

,, „ delegate to Convention in Columbia, 451 

„ ,, colonel of Chesterfield Regiment, 461 

„ ,, notice of engagement, marria-e, and death, 463 and 7iote 

Stewart, David, Representative for Marlborough, 461 
Steward, Charles Augustus, settles near Cheraw, 106 and note 
„ ,, elected to As.sembly, 177 

„ ,, lieut.-col. of Cheraw Regiment, 226 

,, „ before committee of St. David's, 237, 238 

,, Mrs. Sarah, petitions for her husband, &c., 378, 379 
,, „ his character, 379 ; error, and subsequent career, 

380 and note 



544 INDEX. 

Stock raising, most jirofitablo business, 76 

,, wild, 1'oiuui l>y sotlU-rs, how ttikt'ii, 109, no 
,, roMinrluililo ini'iiient rolatoii of Maiachi Murphy, no, note 
Strotlior, noiioo of, family, \'ji.) vote 

,, (iforijo anil Williaiu settle near Olioraw, 443, 444 
,, William writes to Coumil of Safety, 253 
,, ,, Sheriff of flieraws, H)i 

,, ,, Kopresontativo for St. navitl's, 415, 445 

,, ,, V. 0. .lustiee for Cliestertielil, 4,^3 

Stulihs, John, settles on Cat Kisli, 87 
Sumpter, (.Jeneral, writes to Maiion, 35f> 357 
Sweat, Wni., notii'o of, 101 

,, Janies, aecount of, 311 iiml Hii^r 
,, Nathan, eaptiire ami eseapp, 31 2 
Sweeney, notice of the, family, 91 
,, Barney, liia ilesceuilants, 91 

Tarlkton, Colonel, account of affairs in Carolina, 314, 315 

,, „ „ failure of expedition on river, 318, 319 

,, ,, ,, r>ritish niovements before Canuien, 324, 325 

,, ,, ,, Ameiiean movements and Greeu's advance, 350, 

35 1 and note 
,, „ ,, Cornwaliis's situation, &c., 368 

,. .. M M eiior, 370 

Tart, Enos, alter Tories, Tii)^\ 
Taxes, notiee of, n^ and note 
Taylor, Captain S., delegate to Convention in Charleston, 447 

,, „ leaves the country, 455 

Terrell, account of the family, ■;3 and note 
Thomas, Tristram, emis;rates to America, 93 

,, ,, remtnal of his family to Pedee, 93 and note, and 94 

,, l\ev. Robert, notice of, 04 

,, Tristram, notice of, 94, Major umler Kolb, 301 

„ ,, commands party on river against, boats, 316,317 

,, ,, his active service on Peilee, 371 

,, ,, Kepreseiitative fcr St. David's, 388, 442 

,, ,, Senator for St. Davit's, 415, 459 

,, ,, C. V. Juds;e foi- Marll oroui^h, 433, 452 

,, ,, dele^aio to Convention in Charleston. 447 

,, ,, tlitbculty with Colomd IVnton, 455-4.S6 

,, ,, sketch of, and death, 400, 401 and note 

,, William, settles on redeo, marriage and family, 94 and note 

,, ,, Commissioner of Caveats for Choraws, 432 

,, M senator, 44,^ 

,, ,, C. C. .lustiee for Marlborough, 452 

Thornby, M:ijor, con\mnnds detachment to Charlcs-towu, 301 
Tobacco, its cultivation, 1 1 '2 and note 

„ inspection at Cheraws, 430 
Tories on Pedee, and punishment, 298 

,, pursued by Kolb, 358 359, 359-360 

,, revenge on Kolb, 3()0-362 

,, on Jeffrey's and IMack Creeks, 3S3 

,, between Lumber Uiver and Little Pedee, pursued by Whigs, 393 
Townsend, notice of, 101 
Township, plan of, 42, 43 

,, on Pedee, name and locality, 43, 44 

,, proceedings of Comicil, 43, 44, 45 

,, first settlement in IJueensborousli, 44, 45 

,, locality of the town, 45 

,, form of grant for plots in, 45 note 

Trade, pinnts of noie tor, 1 1 2 
Troops, Hritish, sickness at Cheiivw, 176, 319, 320 



INDEX. 645 

Turbevillo, Rev. William, notice of, 70, 71, and note 
Turnage, William, 98 

Voyage, use of term, 299 

Waties, Thoma8,at Cherawa Bar, 436 

Webster's, notice of, 99 

Welch emigration to America, 46 

,, remove from Pennsylvania to Delaware, 46 
,, first visit to Pedee, wlien and wliy made, 45, 47 
,, tract assigned tlieni, 47, 48 ; its extension, 48-51 
,, settlement on Cat Fish, 51 
„ Neck, its locality, why selected, 5 1 
,, account of colony in Welch Neck, 52, 53 
„ organization of first cliurch, 53 
,, records of church, 53 note; many lost, 440 
„ appeal to Council for protection against Indians, 53 
,, inducements held out \>y Covernment to others to come, 54, «i5 
,, increase of settlers, lint of grants, action of Council thereon, 55-5S 
,, difficulties in their way, 58 

,, petition to have lands surveyed and granted free of expense, 59 
,, action of Council on petition, 60 
,, upper limits of their settlement, (n 
,, exclusive in their feeling and itolioy, 61, 66 
,, relics, 67, and note ; a few names only left, i6a 
,, their first articles of cultivation, 1 1 1 

„ encouraged by Government to produce certain exports, 60 
,, removal of their church building to Society Hill, 440 
Wemys, Major, his march up Pedee, incidents of, 302, 303, 304 
,, returns to George-town, 306 
,, indulgence shown him by General Sumpter, 306 
,, again on Lower Pedee, 332 
Westfield, John, notice of, O2 note 

,, Tobacco Inspector at Cheraw, 430 

Whigs and Tories, when the distinction between them tfjok its rise, 266, 267 
„ ,, conflicts between, 257, 298, 305, 3251 32^ 

357. 358, 370, 37'. 3«2, ?,H?„ 387, 39> 
Whitfield, William, Representative for Mari borough, 459 
Wickham, Thomas, Representative for Liberty, 457 
Wilds, notice of family, 52 note 

,, Samuel, petitioiiH for land, 118 

,, Mrs., robbed by liritish soldiers, 362 • 

,, Samuel, birth and early years, 499-500 
„ ,, teacher in St. David's A<;Hdemy, 437, 521 

jj ,, candidate for legislature in Darlington, 458, 459 

^, ,, Representative for Darlington, 461, 501 

,j ,, •inarriage, success at iiar, 500, 501 

J, ,, anecdote of, 501, note 

,^ ,, elected solicitor, then judge, 501 

j^ „ charge to Grand Jury of Abbeville, 502-509 

,, „ sentence on Slater, 510, and note, .513 

„ „ „ John J'oUison, 513-516 

,j ,, holds last court in Charleston, 517 

jj „ his death, and feeling produced by it, 517 

jj ,, proceedings of Bar in CharlesUjn, 517, 518 

„ „ ,, „ at Sumpter, 518, 519 

,, ,, obituary notices of, 519-526, and no<e 

,, ,, lines commemorative of, 527, 528 

Wilkfl, John, grantee of larjd, 79 

Williams, Rev. Robert, notice of, and account of family, 64, 65, and note 
,, David, his death, 2O8 

„ General D. R., notice of, 65, note 

N N 



546 INDEX. 

Willis, Old, kills British soldiers, and returns money to Mrs. Wilds, 363, 364 
Wilson, Dr. James P., notice of, and family, 102 

house burned by British, removes his family, 304 
effort to save Cusack, 303 
C.C Justice for Darlington, 434 
opposes Wm. Thomas for senate, 446 
his death, 453, 454, and note 
,, John, settles on Pedee, his family, 103, and «o<e 
,, ,, feeling after taking oath of allegiance, 305 

,, „ commands Munchausen corps, 352 

,, „ Sheriff for Cheraws, 378 
,, „ taken prisoner and escapes, 386 
Wise, Samuel, settles on Pedee, 104 

elected captain by Provincial Congress, 236 
elected major, 236 
resigns conmiission, 246, 247 
marches to Charles-town, 252 

writes to Gen. Harrington, 268-273, 278, 279, 285-287, 289- 
291 
,, „ his character and death, 296 
Winchester, Rev. Elhanan, pastor of Welch Neck church, 180 note 

„ „ preaches anniversary sermon in St. David's church, 

180 
„ ,, addresses, with Rev. Mr. Hart, President Laurens, 

and President's reply, 261-263 
,, ,, resigns his charge, 439 ; state of church, 439, 440 

Witherspoon, John D., active at fire in Darlington, 435, note 
,, Gavin, settles in Darlington, notice of, 441 

,, ,, Representative for West Liberty, 455 

Wood, Rev. Frame, teacher in St. David's, 438 

Yankee Hill, 465 note 

Young, Francis, account of, petitions for land, 61 

Zimmerman, Wm., Representative for Darlington, 459, 461 
„ „ Sheriff for Darlington, 461. 



THE END. 



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